An eye for colour: Graphical House express the creative offerings of the Bernat Klein Foundation

Serbian-born textile designer, colourist and painter Bernat Klein left a vibrant impact on the design world with his pioneering dying techniques, colour usage, and woven textiles used in haute couture. He significantly impacted Scotland’s post-modernist design movement, in particular. As a dedicated online hub, the Bernat Klein Foundation continues to inspire today’s creatives – hosting a programme of exhibitions, talks and workshops. 

Glasgow-based brand design consultancy Graphical House worked alongside the foundation to create a strategically-focused identity and direction that would help express Klein’s vision of design, colour and creative practice. Central to this is a bespoke wordmark, inspired by the typography found on Klein’s early branding and research work. The clean and crisp geometric sans serifs Helvetica Now and Avant Garde are used in support of the wordmark.

As the brand world spans digital and social platforms alongside print and exhibitions, the creative team also developed an eye-inspired marque (a recurring symbol in Klein’s work) to reinforce cohesion and endorse peripheral projects. “In its lightest form the marque/monogram is distinct and locates the project within the Klein universe, but also has an elegance and simplicity that doesn’t dominate,” Creative Director Daniel Ibbotson tells us.

“Klein has such a strong visual language across all of his work, adding to that felt unnecessary and potentially confusing,” he continues. “The aim with this project is to be reflective of Klein’s legacy, bringing it to the attention of wider audiences but also allowing space around it for new creative projects.” 

Colour also forms a central component of the visual language. As Klein wrote extensively on colour theory within design, it was only fitting that Graphical House drew from his own use of colour when choosing the palette – resulting in a warm, 70s-esque selection that not only evokes his character, but also fittingly ties the brand together.

Graphical House

Bernat Klein Foundation