BuroCreative has recently designed the brand identity of the May Design Series. The event brings together for the first time four inspiring design trade shows under one roof to serve the broad sourcing needs of the London-based interior design, property, architectural and retail sectors.
BuroCreative were tasked with creating a contemporary, progressive identity, which tied together KBB LDN (kitchen, bedroom and bathroom design), The Arc Show (architectural and decorative lighting), DX (cutting edge interiors) and INTERIORS LDN (mid to high-end interiors) whilst retaining the distinct individual identities of the four shows.
The Clerkenwell based agency has been working with the shows owner UBM for the past two years, having created the INTERIORS UK identity in 2012 (held January in Birmingham) and in 2013 commissioning bespoke imagery for the 4 individual London shows.
"Our task with the May Design Series was to create an identity which united, but didn't subsume the 4 individual shows. Added to which, the work also needed to function in physical spaces and, due to the demands of an annual show, change and grow over time to keep things fresh," commented Roly Grant, creative director and founding partner of BuroCreative.
"It was clear that a traditional 'logo' approach wasn't going to achieve any of this. Instead, we felt that a flexible visual system - 4 coloured shapes representing each show - was much more powerful. It's an approach which translates seamlessly into the physical space of the exhibition and gives exciting possibilities for online animation and marketing collateral, now and for future shows."
Ab Rogers, show designer for the May Design Series will be guiding visitors through the urban sprawl of the exhibition. He will use the colour and geometric forms from the new identity to create excitement, challenge the way that people behave and help them navigate through the space. "We were excited by the angular planes within the graphic template of the May Design Series logo; that became a very strong inspiration for this direction," he explained. Rogers suggests that shapes will "fold and articulate, wrap around and fold back, different shapes will intersect, creating new and intriguing forms." He describes these bold shapes and lines as a "Matisse-like collection of planes" that will tie the space together visually and embody the May Design Series identity.