OMSE prioritise the needs of Ark’s residents in the co-living space’s future-proofed identity

Starting in Wembley, London, with the intention of spreading further across the city, Ark provides an unconventional co-living space where lifestyle, work and living are all possible under one roof, with shared gyms, roof gardens, media rooms, Pelotons and more. Tasked with branding the contemporary offering, London-based design studio OMSE sought an unfussy approach to the identity, instead opting to champion how the space is, ultimately, the home of those staying there.

“Ark is home to many people,” OMSE tell us, “so to create an identity that is suitable for people to actually live in, we needed to develop a colour palette that was pared back,” discussing the visual considerations for living within a branded environment, turning towards a sense of subtlety to accomplish their goal. “That said, there’s something really vibrant about this way of living,” they add, “and the locations themselves are colourful and rich with culture in different ways,” introducing selective bursts of electric blue and green to embody this energy – neatly partnered with a robust type collection to further the mix of tones. 

“Typography plays a big role in the brand,” OMSE explain, “we used the semicircular Ark form as a guide to play with different typographic styles,” capturing the vibe of the location, with the flexibility to change when new sites are added. “What’s exciting about it is that the type language can continue to grow and evolve over time,” they suggest, “simply by being anchored in the same form,” so far opting for Pangram Pangram’s Right Gothic and Right Grotesk, alongside F37 Stout to encapsulate the Wembley site. 

In an effort to more practically document the co-living space, OMSE turned to photographer Phill Taylor to capture the environment and the lifestyle of those inhabiting it. “There were three aspects that we wanted to capture to help promote Ark,” OMSE detail, namely, the people, the place and the location. “To help us deliver on each we cast real tenants and recreated different events that might take place during the day,” they note, including everything from social hangs and breakfast in bed to downtime and lunchtime gatherings. “All in all,” OMSE conclude, “the shots provided Ark with a wealth of imagery to promote the space online and around London,” setting the scene for a new way of living.

OMSE

Ark