New branding for the ICMA Award
Studio Piraaat, an agency based in The Hague, The Netherlands, has developed the new branding for the ICMA Award. Four questions to the creators.
The film shows the animated logo developed by Studio Piraat and the new colours for the four sections of the competition.
1. What was your idea behind the new design for ICMA?
Our goal while creating the new ICMA brand was to put the focus on designers and their splendid work. By reducing the visual language to basic geometric shapes, the award directs the spotlight onto its submissions. Moreover, to highlight the great variety within the creative industry, we decided to develop a dynamic logo system that can be tailored to various applications. Minimalistic paper textures make the finishing touches to the brand as they are adding an extra dimension to it.
2. Who was involved?
Under the guidance of creative director Pim Nap, our designer Michael Fischer took the design lead in the creation of the ICMA branding. Furthermore, Freek Rutkens was responsible for the animations while Christian Lutz took care of the administrative handling of the project.
The start page of the competition shows the new logo, the new colours and the structure of the paper.
Did you have other ideas beside the result?
During the initial research phase, several ideas crossed our minds – ranging from more illustrative approaches to minimalistic, typographic solutions. However, it soon became clear in which direction we would head. Most ICMA submissions still have a textured feel to them even though they are spread across a wide variety of design disciplines. That is why basic geometric shapes and tactility of paper made sense.
What other jobs and/or clients does your agency have?
Here, at Studio Piraat, we are busy with the creation of new brands – strategically as well as visually – on a daily basis. Thus, we love to support companies on their branding-journeys: from defining brand stories and finding the right market positioning till the last business card is printed, every page of a website is in place, the office building receives its signing and the launch event is held. We do this for local and international brands whilst always seeking for a mutual click.
More details about your agency.
Founded in 2002, our studio now consists of a band of 15 ambitious and talented creatives: graphic designers, interactive designers and creative strategists. We have our anchors set in the Netherlands in the city of The Hague as well as a second office in Woerden.
Application examples for the new corporate design.
The “look and feel” of the new design is based on the rough feel of paper.
