New Association’s identity for Column A gives precedent to its products and thrives in simplicity

Melbourne-based design practice New Association has worked with online homeware store Column A to develop their brand and website design, culminating in a bright, confident and charming identity that emphasises the curated nature of the store, and their dedication to preserving the world around it.

Focusing on providing and promoting conscious consumerism, while simultaneously fostering a like-minded online community, Column A have set out to set an example of how modern, young businesses should be run – and doing so without being cavalier and stilted in their progressive attitude and approach. Needing to aesthetically convey this mindset, New Association kept the design effortlessly simple without being burdened by a necessity for minimalism. Instead, the identity is confident in its clarity; utilising understated and sophisticated typographic principles with the help of Söhne from Klim Type Foundry.

“As far as Akzidenz-Grotesk interpretations go, Söhne is one of our favourites,” New Association’s Partner Fraser Stanley tells us, “Söhne provided us with a familiar, modern and timeless grotesk that works well at all sizes,” he adds. This typographic strength demonstrated by Söhne gives precedent to Column A’s products, and in doing so demonstrates an identity that seeks to bolster and support the brand’s efforts rather than become its primary selling point. This priority of product is also explored on Column A’s website design, where the makers, their stories and their offerings are showcased as the store’s centrepiece – a sentiment reinforced by their logomark.

The sincerity of the type treatment throughout the identity also affords more obviously playful elements to be incorporated into the identity. This includes the charismatic and joyful illustrations of William Schmitt, whose inclusion goes far in a way to represent the core values of the store. “Column A is built around community and right from the start the team were working with friends and collaborators to bring it to life,” Stanley explains, noting the representation of this in Schmitt’s butterflies. “It helps elevate the brand,” he concludes, “and tap into that sense of community and the makers involved.”

New Association

Column A