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Harry Bennett
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Klutch Studio’s fluid identity for AFK shows how a system can functionally flex across a brand


Klutch Studio’s fluid identity for AFK shows how a system can functionally flex across a brand
Klutch Studio’s fluid identity for AFK shows how a system can functionally flex across a brand

“The bespoke logotype was formed to represent the multi-dimensional, forever moving digital world that AFK operates in,” Midweight Designer Mollie Norton tells us, detailing the work of London-based design agency Klutch Studio. “The logo is based on a square grid that 45-degree angles could subdivide,” Norton continues, making a subtle nod to the pixel-based context of the global influencer and attention marketing agency. “This gives the logo a chance to move and come alive when it needs to,” she adds, championing the brand’s leading strategy, ‘Elevate the Game’ – developed by Arnt Eriksen – that lays the foundations for Klutch Studio’s visual exploration.

Klutch Studio’s fluid identity for AFK shows how a system can functionally flex across a brand

AFK’s logotype, as well as the gridded structure that shapes it, influenced the brand’s comprehensive, flexible system, allowing it to easily implement type and image whilst encapsulating the brand’s new triple-armed internal structure. The result is an intrinsically clear-cut aesthetic setup, both utilitarian and refined in its design – a feat accomplished by the inclusion of Dinamo’s Monument Grotesk as AFK’s hero typeface. “We chose Monument Grotesk as the overall brand leant into minimal and swiss type systems,” Norton details, “it allows for clear and easy-to-digest messaging yet feels honest and distinctly confident,” whilst sharing similarly sharp characteristics with the logomark. “Although the type wasn’t customised,” she notes, “it was renamed AFK Monument Grotesk to allow it to be an ownable asset and encourage use across the business.”

Klutch Studio’s fluid identity for AFK shows how a system can functionally flex across a brand

The brand’s three operating vertices – Pros, Creators and Digital – are made distinct by Klutch Studio’s similarly systematic use of colour. “The AFK colour palette is inspired by creators’ and gamers’ at-home setups and spaces,” such as neon lights and glowing keyboards, Norton explains. “Once we had the five key colours and tints, these were able to be merged into a subtle mesh gradient,” she continues, creating an asset set to be selectively used across the brand’s printed and digital materials. “As AFK currently has three business verticals, we wanted to set each apart and allow the teams and talent represented to own a colour,” Norton concludes, “this meant it was easy for us to build out collateral, social content and ensure that it was categorised,” culminating in a vibrant, varied visual output representative of the brand’s wide reach and talent pool.

Graphic Design

Klutch Studio

Typography

Custom Wordmark
ABC Monument Grotesk by Dinamo

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