how by why balance history and modernity in their sharp identity for photographer Alexander Bather

Balancing history and modernity within his practice, Manchester-based photographer Alexander Bather needed an identity and website that mirrored his forward-thinking and simultaneously referential mindset. Turning to Sydney-based design studio how by why, they utilised Blaze Type’s Armag Fury and Out of the Dark’s ToY to immediately and typographically make this contrast, using ToY’s historical context to ground the identity in purpose.

“ToY was born from the ashes of a magazine from 1924,” how by why’s Mark Blacker explains, “whilst Armag drew inspiration from early 20th-century hand drawings,” yet both carry complimentary characteristic and stylistic alternatives – resulting in a robust and elegant typographic system.

Opting for only a single brand colour, Blacker notes that the use of yellow brings authority and prestige to the identity, explaining, “the yellow lends itself to become a tool to demand the viewer’s attention,” adding, “whilst working in harmony to enhance the typographic system in complementing Alex’s photography.”

What the identity also reflects is the candour and effortlessness of Bather’s practice, achieved through a series of flexible and relaxed graphic layouts. “After speaking with Alex, how by why created a notion of ‘Stylistic Resemblance’ to guide and unify the identity,” Blacker recalls, “while style is aesthetic, highly controlled but also highly personal,” he concludes, “resemblance is when two or more things are alike;” something expressed thoroughly throughout the identity’s presence.

how by why

Alexander Bather