Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility

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Harry Bennett
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Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility

Earlier in 2022, we brought you news of the Antalis Creative Power Awards – a celebration of printed projects by international paper manufacturer Antalis. Once the deadline was closed and all of the entries were in, we travelled to Paris to take part in the jury alongside a range of talented individuals from the design industry; helping to select the finalists from the awards’ eight categories.

From there, we have curated our favourites and will be presenting them to you across a series of eight articles before unveiling the winners. Turning to the Brand Identity & Stationery category, we’ve picked creatives from Antwerp, Lochem and London and spoken to them about the influence special techniques and slick stocks have on a brand’s impact and influence. 

Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility

Throughout the luxurious identity for interior design and architects Elicyon, London-based design studio Regular Practice placed a foundational emphasis on tactility. A decision which is particularly expressed across Elicyon’s striking stationery set and printed materials – which saw their printing partnership with London-based Dot Studio continue to thrive. Working closely together, Regular Practice opted for a slick foil embossing upon the 100% recycled Keaykolour Particles Sunshine as their paper choice. 

“Particles Sunshine gave the impression of an off-white material, but on closer inspection has flecks and details in it,” Creative Director Tom Finn tells us, “working with foil embossings in a gloss black we were able to build a suite of layered and tactile printed materials,” he adds, complementing the elegance of the expanding brand identity. “We also wanted to suggest a detailed materiality up close with a subtle tone from first glance,” Finn details. “As a company dealing largely in delivering physical outputs, the way we presented the identity in print was an important element,” he continues, “our primary concern was how to support, rather than compete,” citing the characterful nature of Elicyon’s type as a key feature.

Leading the identity, as well as the typographic application of the brand, is the use of Optimo’s Antique Legacy alongside a custom typeface crafted for Eliycon, designed in collaboration with Approximate Type Foundry. “We wanted to build a bespoke typeface with a flavour that is unique and distinct to Elicyon,” Finn explains, “but occupies a typographic space that is familiar and attractive to the desired audience,” conveying the visual and conceptual tone of the brand at every level of its application. “Typefaces go where logotypes cannot,” Finn concludes, “so when the brand speaks, its voice carries, even in situations where overt usage of branding is not appropriate, feasible or desired.”

Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility
Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility

Design by Toko have crafted the identity for Uitgeverij Komma, a world-leading, Lochem-based publishing house known for its meticulous, revered and refined work. Mirroring the publisher’s output through an equally elegant identity, the internationally operating creative studio opted for a bold, typographically punchy visual language, using Avenir Next for the logotype and Helvetica Neue as its supporting act, both from Linotype. “The ‘minimal’ character of Avenir was just right for the concept enhanced by Helvetica,” Creative Director Michael Lugmayr explains.

Tying the brand’s output and practice together, Design by Toko crafted and executed a systemised, art-directed approach to their documentation, whereby scenes, props and hands are used to contextualise the latter, culminating in a comprehensive digital database. This interplay between physical and digital is rife across the brand, most notably in the choice of hues across Komma’s colour palette. “For the website, we developed a colour suite used throughout at random,” Lugmayr recalls, collating a wide chromatic range to indicate the variety of Komma’s practice. “In the process, we changed the colours so digital and print would match,” he adds, turning to Arjowiggin’s Keaykolour range of papers for the hues in question. “Keaykolour’s contemporary colours and textures,” Lugmayr reveals, “complimented our thoughts and concepts the best,” allowing the brand to seamlessly and consistently blend Komma’s practical expertise and professional context across the expanded visual identity – no matter if digital or physical. 

Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility
Antalis Creative Power Awards finalists: three identities that emphasise the impact of tactility

Data-driven athletic platform LAB Antwerp, founded to bridge technology, data and physical performance, have collaborated with Antwerp-based design studio LOBSTER to create a technical visual identity for the training, physiotherapy and health coaching company. “They use 3D scanning techniques that allow their experts to focus on the details of the client’s physique and performance,” Co-owner and graphic designer Tessa Persoons explains, noting LAB Antwerp’s process. “We treated the logotype in a similar way,” she adds, “looking at the letters as body parts, we enlarged the ink traps, treating them as if they were joints,” resulting in a sci-fi-like typographic system that mirrors LAB’s forward-thinking services and physical space. Similarly, LOBSTER’s choice of typeface reflects the company’s innovative, data-focused foundation, opting for Akkurat Pro as the typographic hero of the brand. “The typeface is down to earth yet elegant,” Persoons explains, “and serves as a great contrast to the boldness and complexity of the logotype.”

Successfully grounding the futuristic motifs in the typography, LOBSTER looked towards Arjowiggins’ Keaykolour colours, bringing the visual system down to earth through tactility and texture. “Keaykolour is a paper we absolutely love because of its sophisticated colour scheme and beautiful luxurious texture,” Persoons recalls, opting for Keaykolour Deep Black, Grey Fog and Pure White for the printed materials. “The colours were the exact match for the project, and when combined, form a gorgeous palette,” she adds, translating the desired personal and social neutrality of the brand’s practice. “Black is for personal training, grey for physiotherapy and white for nutrition,” Persoons clarifies.

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