Since early 2012, FutureBrand had been thinking about refocusing its external and internal proposition, from how it worked, through to how it looked, sounded and communicated with prospective and existing clients, as well as 500 staff worldwide.
What the London team wanted to do is create an environment that felt lively and vibrant, using colour, imagery and language inspired by the new brand expression as well as creating a focal piece that would compliment and contrast with a very clean, modern open plan working space. Creating something conventional was not an option, such as a corporate sign or a typical ‘off the shelf’ solution.
The new brand approach was built around treating our identity (and everything we do) being at the heart of who we are, what we believe in and how we work. We believe that we can shape a more positive world, driven and inspired by the future positive brands that we create, and so it was important for our new brand to be completely integrated into everything we say,
think and do.
Our new interactive icon performs this task by being flexible enough to become ‘part’ of any image or content that we create. By taking this approach our brand along with our flexible and adaptable identity elements are always integrated and aligned with our values and the rich range of content we create.
‘Our new brand is strongly content focused – we believe that we are part of what we create. The colour and diversity of the identity is expressed throughout the office, using imagery and iconography related to our processes, culture and thinking.’
‘We worked closely with Peter Grundy and Rose Blake to produce unique and inspiring pieces that were inspired by our new company values, personality and culture.’
We wanted to create a space that was inspirational, bright, colourful and full of personality and uniqueness. Commissions were a key part of this process, and led to a series of collaborations with different designers and artists. What really excited us was the potential to create a centrepiece, a physical installation or structure that would help to express our difference and really make the new office our own.
Wanting to work with materials and an approach that would ‘naturalise’ the space led us to the discovery of up and coming Peckham based studio Hendzel and Hunt, whose design ethos is based around craft, localism and reclaiming, to create new, innovative and exciting sculptural pieces. The beauty and skill involved in their work really grabbed our attention, from the highly bespoke one-off pieces through to collaborative efforts for high street brands and other institutions such as Selfridges, V&A and The Old Vic theatre.
It’s our belief that it’s important for companies to deliver sustainable business value, as well as doing and acting in ways that essentially make peoples lives better. Here was an example of how to do just that. The brief was to create two main environmental pieces, one that would be a centrepiece of the studio and one that would live outside the main studio hub and act as a pathway from reception into the main studio. Crucially we both agreed that there should be a conceptual and aesthetic link between the two pieces that would act like a bridge between the outside and the inside spaces. The external area is a shared communal space, where clients and visitors wait before coming into the studio.
Once the team at FutureBrand had an understanding of how we could work together, we realized it was a great opportunity to create something that was original and exciting, as well as locally produced and sustainably sourced. We wanted to create something that both disrupted and worked with the clinical, modernist nature of the lobby space. The solution was to create a modular structure that performed the functional requirement of a bench, but also was organic in form, flowing across the wall, creating a direction and energy that increased the closer it got to the studio entrance.
It was imperative that the icon felt like it was part of the piece, and this approach ensured it felt like it had grown out of the sculpture, whilst acting as a catalyst for the increase of energy and creativity as it gets closer to the studio. Several different types of wood and finishes were used to ensure the final effect was both beautifully realised and dramatic. When applied to imagery and moving image in a print or digital context, our icon draws from the colours and textures within those images to embed itself within them.
Using different styles, colours and textures of wood allowed H+H to take this design approach and bring it into our environment, making it not just part of what they had created, but linked to our brand idea and story. The icon is the main focus of the installation, acting as a point of energy and transformation.
‘As FutureBrand were about to rebrand, they really wanted to create a stand out icon that would act as a finish of the bench and also a lead-in into the studio space. We used a wide range of timbers, such as English and American black walnut, Southern yellow Pine, Meranti, Maple, Sapele, Douglas Fur, Purpleheart, and Mahogany, and as exotic as it sounds the majority of the timbers used were reclaimed.’
Jan Hendzel, H+H
The focus returned to the centrepiece of the studio space – whatever was created had to work on three levels. Firstly, it had to relate to the concept of the external piece. Secondly it needed to function as a space that did not feel oppressive or closed, but created enough of a presence for people to sit and work or hold meetings. Using the modular, almost lenticular style of the bench, a concept quickly materialized that turned a square, formal space into an organic, rounded composition made up of two curving walls.
These walls would rise and fall in opposite ways. Along with the porus construction using gaps between the wood, this would create a structure that allowed light to penetrate but retained enough presence to create an ‘area’ within the communal office space. The organic nature of the structures create an open and inviting studio space that compliment rather than dominate the environment. The structures are visible from the entrance to the studio, forming a strong link between the bench and icon.
‘Moving into a new space allowed us to take all the new and exciting work that had been done on our brand and express it though out the entire studio.
Collaborating with an up and coming design studio further helped us to ensure that our brand was an integral part of our new environment in a truly unique, interesting and innovative way.’
Credits
Photography
Ed Kulakowski (edkulakowski.com)
Alastair Johnstone, FutureBrand
FutureBrand team (FutureBrand / futurebrand.com)
Shane Greeves
Chris Kilmartin
David Waters
Stefanie Mathewson
H+H Team (Hendzel + Hunt / hendzelandhunt.com)
Jan Hendzel
Oscar Hunt
Martin Price