Environmental Branding with Typography

The Australian Human Rights Commission wanted the opportunity, when they moved to their new offices, to express what they stood ready passionately for and believed in. If you are going to stand for anything in this life what better cause could there … Continue reading →

The Australian Human Rights Commission wanted the opportunity, when they moved to their new offices, to express what they stood ready passionately for and believed in. If you are going to stand for anything in this life what better cause could there be than Human Rights. BrandCulture were humbled by the opportunity to undertake this project in collaboration with Woodhead International Interiors team, Jones Lang Lasalle Property and Property Advisory Australia.

After the two World Wars and the atrocities that were suffered globally The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written. Quote ‘Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people’.

The above essential text resonates for all employees at this Australian Government department in one way or another. BrandCulture undertook a typographic exploration throughout the new office environment on Pitt Street, Sydney. There was a need for wayfinding and environmental graphics, which came together in a successful branded environment.

The wayfinding concept on the main public floor that houses the two large hearing rooms references famous Australian Human Rights activists. For the rest of the environment room numbers were integrated into the typographic designs on the entry doors for each room. Utility rooms were identified using typography applied to the end sections of door entries so they could be seen from down the corridor.

Check out more images of this project here, we hope you enjoy it ->> >Every Voice – Australian Human Rights Commission

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Earth Hour

It’s getting close to that time of year again, when BrandCulture and the world unite for a good cause. Earth hour is upon us, 8:30pm Saturday the 31st of March 2012. We take this event seriously and have since its … Continue reading →

It’s getting close to that time of year again, when BrandCulture and the world unite for a good cause. Earth hour is upon us, 8:30pm Saturday the 31st of March 2012. We take this event seriously and have since its launch in 2007, we switch off the lights, computers, servers, printers… everything on weekends when we leave the studio…  it ALL makes a tiny difference, but collectively it puts a real dent in the energy consumption (and bills ) which is changing the way we think…. let’s turn more electrical equipment off every day and do more to make a difference to our planets future.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Earth Hour concept here’s a brief rundown. Earth Hour was the brainchild of the WWF Organisation, conceived in Sydney 2007, the company inspired a population of thousands to band together for a common cause; climate change. Businesses large and small, politicians and children alike all took a stand against Global warming by switching off their lights for an hour. Today Earth Hour has more than a hundred million participants in over 135 countries!

We urge you to get involved,  to commit not just for the hour but to make changes in our lifestyles to help save our beautiful earth and ask yourself – “How long will it last”…

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Seeing Lumisty is believing

Our MD, Stephen Minning went to see how Coleman were progressing with the production on our next big project (we can’t reveal who it’s for just yet!). BrandCulture have devised an innovative solution using Lumisty, a 3 layered film which … Continue reading →

Our MD, Stephen Minning went to see how Coleman were progressing with the production on our next big project (we can’t reveal who it’s for just yet!). BrandCulture have devised an innovative solution using Lumisty, a 3 layered film which has never been used this way before, specially imported from Japan.

Originally developed for privacy when using ATM machines, lumisty is the world’s first ‘Point of View’ Glazing Film or perhaps the only glazing film that changes from clear to frosted depending on the viewing angle.

Upon first encountering the product, people are often struck by what they think is an optical illusion. Walking past a window with lumisty applied, a perfectly clear, transparent glass surface becomes, in a step or two, partially frosted. Two or three steps later, the same window is completely frosted. Walk backward or forward, and it’s clear again. As the viewer’s angle shifts, so does the transparency or translucency of the film.

On a lighter note, Coleman (who like a challenge!) have an “office hit list” out on their clients at the moment and after Stephen and team BrandCulture came up with the idea of the global map made up of thousands of dots, each dot to be cut and installed on location exactly 45mm apart over an 11m glass stairwell, using the lumisty material, they decided to make Stephen #2 on their hit list. I wonder who #1 is??!!

Check back soon for an update as to what and who this project is for!

To the guys at Coleman – another great job, thank you!

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Our View Point

BrandCulture has recently completed an installation design at Commbank Place at Darling Harbour that has roots influenced by the Swiss artist Falice Varini. The key messaging for Commonwealth Bank was to welcome the cus tomer into their new branch and … Continue reading →

BrandCulture has recently completed an installation design at Commbank Place at Darling Harbour that has roots influenced by the Swiss artist Falice Varini. The key messaging for Commonwealth Bank was to welcome the cus

tomer into their new branch and to display one of the most recognisable and trusted brandmarks in the Country to their clientele, a reminder of why they choose to bank with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. BrandCulture was asked to work on a zigzag feature wall within the space that could display information to people both leaving and entering… Longtime fans of Varini’s work, BrandCulture set about to integrate the Commonwealth Bank messaging and branding into the environment.

The following is a excerpt from Varini’s site…“My field of action is architectural space and everything that constitutes such space. These spaces are and remain the original media for my painting. I work “on site” each time in a different space and my work develops itself in relation to the spaces I encounter. I generally roam through the space noting its architecture, materials, history and function.”

BrandCulture looked closely at how the customers would move through the space, making use of the traffic workflow and spaces… Personal banking areas equipped with iPads, telephones and printers are located along the main feature wall. If more assistance is needed the teller location at the back of the office does away with security screens and a more personable experience with relaxed tables and offices. Turning to exit the space, an automatic foreign exchange converter and coin counter sit opposite the feature wall. These locations create a natural viewpoint for the feature wall, part of an “inevitable route” within the space, a perfect opportunity to view the installation.

Varini goes on to say “From these spatial data and in reference to the last piece I produced, I designate a specific vantage point for viewing from which my intervention takes shape. The vantage point is carefully chosen: it is generally situated at my eye level and located preferably along an inevitable route, for instance an aperture between one room and another, a landing… I do not, however, make a rule out of this, for all spaces do not systematically possess an evident line.It is often an arbitrary choice. The vantage point will function as a reading point, that is to say, as a potential starting point to approaching painting and space.The painted form achieves its coherence when the viewer stands at the vantage point.”

Entering or exiting the space gives the viewer multiple viewpoints of the branding, the messaging and the images that focus on the inter-dependant relationship between the bank and their clients. The imagery of these moments represent the customer and also the development of our communities right across Australia by capturing local imagery to the branch. Whilst the Entry and Teller points highlight these assets, the real experience is had moving through the space and seeing the movement and construction of the logo, the development of the typography and the visual moments featured along the wall.

Lastly, Varini deals with the changing view points… “When he* moves out of it, the work meets with space generating infinite vantage points on the form. It is not therefore through this original vantage point that I see the work achieved; it takes place in the set of vantage points the viewer can have on it. If I establish a particular relation to architectural features that influence the installation shape, my work still preserves its independence whatever architectural spaces I encounter. I start from an actual situation to construct my painting. Reality is never altered, erased or modified, it interests and seduces me in all its complexity. I work “here and now”. Felice Varini

To view the Commonwealth Bank Darling Walk Branch, please click here

This work has also been published at the Desktop Magazine’s and AGDA Website

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Kit Cuttle: illuminesance

Gordon Eckel and Stephen Minning went along to the Kit Cuttle talk  (RETHINKING LIGHTING) at the Australian Institute of Architects. How do humans really perceive light and spaces? Kit Cuttle proposes a fundamental rethink of how lighting should be assessed and … Continue reading →

Gordon Eckel and Stephen Minning went along to the Kit Cuttle talk  (RETHINKING LIGHTING) at the Australian Institute of Architects.

How do humans really perceive light and spaces? Kit Cuttle proposes a fundamental rethink of how lighting should be assessed and designed so human response, visual clarity and assimilation with architecture are considered to ensure the lighting is elegant, visually effective, energy efficient and actually enhances the experience.

Kit proposes a new measurement of ambient light PAI (Perceived Adequacy of illuminesance) where light would no longer measured at desk height (horizontal work plane) but at a persons eye level with reflected light from the surrounding surfaces and objects in a room. Thus the environment would play an essential part in creating the lighting required for different situations such as reading, walking, eating and meetings, not all need high levels of light.

Apparently in 1911 a lighting report published in a handbook by the London Illumination Society noted required lighting levels at a fraction of what are current standards today.

A couple of years ago BrandCulture were engaged by xyznetworks (Foxtel) to work on the new offices in North Ryde. The staff had moved from a ‘warehouse’ style of office with considerably less lighting and were generally aggravated and complained about th lighting in the new office, to the extent of taking out the lights themselves to reduce the overall glare in the office. Most of the surfaces were white; desks, walls, powerblades, pillars  etc… needless to say there was an issue that needed to be addressed in order to make the occupants feel comfortable in their work place.

BrandCulture devised a solution (working with lighting engineers) where walls and columns were painted matt black, in the instances of the building columns blackboard paint was used so the staff could use these surfaces. The end walls in each work space had key focal environmental graphics installed using an updatable frame system in conjunction with wall wash lighting. The powerblades were also wrapped with up-dateable environmental graphics and small down lights were added again to focus on these areas to create a more dramatic effect in the space.

There was little budget to change the ceiling grid lighting system so we devised an innovative solution of printing to opal acrylic panels (using the brand graphic in B&W so as not to affect colour) in order to reduce lighting levels without changing the light fittings completely. The end result was a more content workforce and a branded environment the company felt was a true reflection (no pun intended!) of what they did.

These projects above were referenced by Kit Cuttle in his presentation; Kerry Hills Architects created a cleverly layered series of interlocked spaces over several levels when they designed the The State Theatre of Western Australia, lighting design by Electrolight. The lighting is an integrated element of the architecture which helps to create a distinctive daytime and night time appearance that delineates both the function and the form of the various spaces. The overall design concept for the lighting to the State Theatre of WA seeks to metaphorically support the activity of making of theatre, a craft that informs explicitly and subtly the way we think about the world. The lighting always seeks to impart a sense of drama and possibility in its application and appearance. Light leads the visitor on a journey through the space that resolves around the dedicated illumination of specific elements and functional requirements. We have not designed for blanket uniformity but rather a quality of light which provides strength of focus and contrast. Light accentuates material selections, reveals textures and supports the fabrics palette. Luminaires that are not concealed have been deliberately positioned to create unexpected arrangements on the ceiling surfaces that encourage a renewed sense of character for the space.

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