"Guya Hansen, a copywriter, approached us because she wanted an all-new corporate identity – something brave and bold, which would suck her future clients in," recalls Christian Frech of Woodlake Design Studio. "She also wanted it to feature the 'H' initial of her surname."
The Frankfurt-based consultancy crafted a minimalist design for the new branding, referencing line art in the concept and applying it across everything from business cards to letterheads. "We thought of the 'H' not as a letter, but as related to writing and thinking, which is why the final design completes the 'H' as a zigzag," he says.
Woodlake studio was inspired by line art in its identity design. "Lines are a reference for writing and drawing; text and concept," says creative director Frech.
"I sketched various 'H' letterforms, just to see what worked and what didn't work," recalls Frech. "The more I drew, the less lines I used. I then moved into Illustrator and InDesign."
The final identity design was applied across all branding collateral from letterheads to envelopes, business cards - front and back - and small promo-posters.
Hansen asked for her new identity to be brave, bold and incorporate the initial of her surname. The most challenging part of the project was to keep the design "as simple as possible, yet have something of an impact," says Frech.
This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 218.
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