final touch was to slightly round the corners of
the type to soften it and make it feel more organic.
The brand icons match this aesthetic, and
represent the five values and beliefs that underpin
all of Grant Associates’ work. We initially
designed these symmetrically to match the
monogram, but realised this was too restrictive.
The leaf brain was the first one we designed and
that set the style and approach of using analogies
and combining two things in each icon.
With Grant Associates’ commitment to
the environment, we were keen to find papers
and print techniques to reflect this. Our print
partners, Empress, had just discovered a new
paper range by Gmund called Biocycle. We made
a dummy of the brochure cover using Biocycle
Chlorophyll paper (made from Bavarian grass and
dyed with natural chlorophyll) and used Wheat
for the inner pages (containing wheat straw
cellulose instead of wood-based pulp). The result
is a brochure that smells like being out in nature if
you close your eyes and sniff.NATURAL MOTION
Adam Doherty
The approach to the animation evolved from an
earlier installation we did for Grant Associates.
We wanted to find a visual language that captures
the essence of what they do – their unique fusion
of technology, nature and human experience.
The animation had to feel organic and familiar,ABOVE
Supple discovered the
perfect material for
GA’s print packs in
Gmund’s range of
Biocycle papers, which
use 100 per cent
organic fibre and dyes.“THE RESULT
IS A BROCHURE
THAT SMELLS
LIKE BEING OUT
IN NATURE IF YOU
CLOSE YOUR EYES
AND SNIFF”CHOOSING THE RIGHT
CONCEPT
JAMIE ELLUL EXPLAINS THE TWO INITIAL
CONCEPTS FOR THE BRAND, AND HOW
THE BEST ROUTE WAS CHOSENOur first concept involved making a
typeface with discretionary ligatures that
could connect in odd and unexpected
ways. The thinking was that it would reflect
the idea of connecting and the wonder of
nature. After our initial developments in-
house we planned to work with Rick Banks
at Face37 to develop the final typeface,
and each ligature was given an organic
feel that felt slightly at odds with the
more brutal base typeface. Ultimately, this
combination would represent man-made
and natural elements coming together as
they do in Grant Associates’ work, and the
typeface would be bespoke to them.
The second concept was something
we sketched out quite early in the
process, and simply stacked a lowercase
g and a lowercase a. We liked how it had
symmetry, connection and an organic feel- all encapsulated in a monogram. Grant
Associates’ work is distinctive and quirky
so we drew the monogram to reflect this.
The other thing we wanted to build into
this concept was a sense that the logo was
physical – that it occupied space rather
than feeling flat.
Our client was very positive about both
concepts and asked us to push forward
the development of both of them. In the
end, they went for the monogram because
it would be easier to roll out. The thing
that concerned them about the bespoke
typeface route was the decision making
that would go into where and when to use
the ligatures with each new project.
PROJECT