Studio Last’s grid-like identity for Berlin Westend is inspired by the photographic contact sheet

Located in the creative hive of Kreuzberg, Berlin Westend is a full-service production company that operates worldwide; producing stills, motion and digital content for the fashion and luxury industries. The Berlin-based company have worked with an impressive roster of clients such as Bottega Veneta, Hermés, Nike, The Gentlewoman, T Magazine, Vogue Italia and Vogue US. With a deep value for sustainable relationships, the team approached fellow Berlin-based design studio Studio Last to create a new corporate identity and website that highlight the company’s international collaborations.

The main idea behind the new look is the grid of a contact sheet, which aims to elevate the photography and video content across the brand. Set against a stark white background, the bold thick lines of the visual language are complemented with the consistent typographic style of Colophon Foundry’s Basis Grotesque, which appears in the identity at one size only. Thanks to the font family’s many weights and styles, it pairs well with the Berlin Westend’s range of assets. 

Explaining the thinking behind the choice of type, Studio Last’s founder Matthias Last tells us, “while it is a beautifully clean grotesque typeface, it still has a unique shape.” The typeface has proved a versatile, reliable and recognisable choice for the studio, appearing in several of their previous conceptual projects including their art space Blake & Vargas, which Last co-founded. “It ideally suits our mentality as Studio Last: we always operate very modern,” he explains, “but also want to keep it classic in a way.”

Whilst developing the identity’s logomark, the experimentation process led to it being typeset in lower case as this proved to be the most visually captivating. “The small letters fitted perfectly into the concept and rounded things up,” Last notes, “especially for the reduced way of including interactive and moving elements such as the spinning logo,” the founder adds.

The simple, monochromatic identity is energised with a vibrant hue of blue, which can be traced to an unexpected source of inspiration. As Studio Last began creating the identity, the team at Berlin Westend mentioned a blue box they had in their office since day one. Recounting the story, Last mentions that the team were convinced “this beautiful colour, which filled up the energy of that whole room,” should be included in the project. “This link to a physical object works nicely as a connection to their both digital and analogue presence,” he concludes.

Studio Last

Berlin Westend