Work

The New York Times: Times Talks

When The New York Times brought its award-winning journalism to a live audience, it required an identity that both conveyed the exceptional quality of the dialogues and could entice young attendees. Our visual system––easily adapted to the series’ myriad speakers and topics via a bespoke digital tool––elevated TimesTalks high above other conference series, captivated a diverse audience, and reflected the unique cultural relevance of every discussion. 

News today is consumed in so many different ways, and traditional media companies are quickly evolving in order to keep young audiences engaged. For The New York Times, one of the most trusted and revered news sources in the world, this manifested as a series of live conversations between its journalists and visionary voices in film, art, theatre, music, fashion, technology, politics and business. Think Al Gore, Ai WeiWei, Greta Gerwig, Grace Jones…
With so much digital content readily available, these in-person TimesTalks needed to encourage physical participation in important conversations of our time. And although live event series are by no means novel, most feel corporate and serious with branding that focuses on the organizers, rather than the ideas.
For TimesTalks, our approach was to give speakers and topics equal footing, via a bespoke digital tool that allowed a magnetic, animated identity to be easily adapted for hundreds of events. This tool allowed the Times’ design team to easily implement the graphic language, explore the entire range of color and type, and maintain consistency from event to event. 
A palette of 212 color combinations and 24 cuts of Franklin &amp; Cheltenham typefaces provided a flexible range of expression within a cohesive system: from serious to playful, bold to serene. The left-right arrangement of text nodded to the dynamic dialogue that TimesTalks is all about. This visual system also came alive online, where viewers could watch live talks or browse the extensive archive of past discussions.
The editorial focus better represented the diversity of discussions, and challenged the visual code of conference series. It enabled the Times to fill its seats with young viewers who were excited to take part, and set a new standard for live journalism––one that’s intelligent, sophisticated, culturally relevant, and of course, enjoyable.

Treating journalism as informative entertainment

Brand Transformation

From Page to Stage

Brand Identity

Digital

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame exists both to honor music greats, and inspire new greatness. Affectionately known as Rock Hall, the institution encompasses a museum packed with exhibitions and ephemera in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as awarding popular music’s highest achievement, by inducting megastars into its coveted hall of fame during an annual ceremony.
Similarly to music’s ever-evolving zeitgeist, the Rock Hall team realized it was time to update its image to ensure the institution remains relevant, by broadening its audience to include younger generations, and staying in the spotlight year-round beyond the induction ceremony.
The 'Rock &amp; Roll' spirit is an essential part of the updated brand: original, bold, daring, dynamic, authentic, powerful. The Hall of Fame artists carry this spirit through their sound, imagery, and stories, which is also now delivered through Rock Hall’s visual identity and content. This is particularly embodied in the new logo, which features a custom designed and programmed typeface that reacts to audio cues—its letterforms reverberating in response to sound levels and beats.
Also imbued into the brand is a tone of voice that’s eternally cool, never trying to be trendy. This is echoed in visuals that blend an Acid House palette with imagery and videos that feature the music world’s GOATs.
The identity debuted at the 2022 Induction Ceremony, which, naturally, doubled as a concert and aired on HBO. The new logo was displayed on the red-carpet step-and-repeat and as part of the stage set, behind this year’s inductees which included Dolly Parton, Lionel Ritchie, and Eminem.
Beginning its new era, Rock Hall continues to expand beyond rock music to celebrate all genres that impact culture, and to recognize the significance of a wider breadth of artists' lifetime achievement that appeal to all ages, ensuring Rock &amp; Roll lives on for many more decades as an idea that's both contemporary and timeless.

Resonating eternal cool with an identity that reacts to music

Ready to Rock

Brand Strategy

Motion

Typeface Design

Meatpacking District

The Meatpacking District has undergone incredible transformation over the last 20 years, from an industrial backwater to one of New York City’s most iconic and dynamic neighborhoods. As this evolution is still ongoing, the website we first created for the brand in 2015 also needed to adapt to remain relevant and useful to the millions of visitors to the area each year.
Challenged to out-do ourselves, our objectives included disrupting typical, generic Business Improvement District websites; designing a mobile-first interface; and creating a radically different digital experience that truly embodies the essence of the neighborhood—appealing to both local and global visitors. All while staying true to our <a href="https://www.basedesign.com/work/meatpacking-district">dual-visual identity</a> now synonymous with this corner of the city.
The updated site reflects the unique, contrasting world of the Meatpacking District. Content cards serve as the foundation, providing a user-friendly and engaging way to build narratives. This new feed interface offers a way to serendipitously discover different places and activities, rather than in a simple list. Within the details of every event and place is additional information about what’s nearby, whether that’s a restaurant, an event, or a celebrity sighting. 
Threads between places and stories also lead to curated experiences and narratives that are map-related, effectively creating tours and thematic guides around the neighborhood. With this in mind, a mobile-first UI approach is geared towards users on the move, providing an experience that brings the neighborhood right to their fingertips—accessible anytime, anywhere.
The website color palette represents the diversity and sense-of-place within the vibrant NYC neighborhood, and the use of photography captures its spirit, showcasing the diverse components of the community, activities and destinations that span fashion, design, culture, art, tech innovation, and food.
The addition of such robust content elevates the site from a singular point-of-view to an engaging platform that takes the user on a much deeper journey—far more appropriate for what Meatpacking needs today, compared to eight years ago. The new website conveys the multifaceted personality of the neighborhood, both affecting and enhancing the perception of its visitors, and elevating their experience of all it has to offer.

Radically refreshing the website for NYC’s most dynamic neighborhood

Going Digital

Wild Cards

Digital Strategy

The New York Times:  Food Festival

After a two-year hiatus, The New York Times brought back its wildly popular celebration of food and drink for Fall 2022. Updating and expanding our flavorful identity for the 2019 event involved carrying over identifiable elements, and adding a mouthwatering animated system that helped to build-up a big appetite for buying tickets.
For one day only, the renowned publication brought together top chefs, mixologists, patissiers, critics, and food fanatics from across the city and beyond on a crisp October Saturday for a program of tastings, talks, and tips at Damrosch Park near Lincoln Center. Some of the biggest names and sharpest minds in food shared their insights on how American dining and cooking have evolved, and gave IRL demonstrations to attendees hungry for advice, and samples.
Promoting this packed smorgasbord of events required an identity that clearly organized information while oozing charm, and carrying a touch of whimsy. Building on the identity created for the event in 2019, the bold red, black, and white palette is continued into a new visual framework that arranges text into connected bubbles. These flow together like warm fondue, and also stretch and spring like the melted cheese in animated versions, on top of gooey red graphics that bob and reshape like vinegar floating in oil.
Static adverts were printed full-page on the back of NYT newspapers, while the animations were spread liberally across social media. When tickets were released, the event sold out in mere minutes, and those lucky enough to nab them were greeted by the same identity in the form of signage, merchandise, and marketing materials on the day. This ongoing collaboration with The New York Times has allowed us to build on an already successful visual identity to develop another that’s equally fresh and indelibly tasty.

Indulging cooking’s small delights in the Big Apple

Good Taste

Signage

Brand Campaign

Uniform & Merchandise Design

MeDirect

Belgian finance company MeDirect chose to switch from a traditional banking system to an app that brings together all personal finance strands, from checking services to managing investments. This revised model skips the middleman and puts the user in the center, allowing them to choose one of three money management levels—from full control to totally hands-off—on a day-to-day basis.
Following the most recent financial crisis, many people have still not regained complete trust in the banks. While some banks are trying to win back customers by claiming that banking with them is “simple,” our strategy involves acknowledging that’s far from true, but that MeDirect’s tools allow users to more easily navigate the array of complexities.
The brand’s existing name was already well-served to position the user as in-control of their money through the app, so it was embraced, and paired with the slogan “My Money, My Choice.” The redesigned pointer logo ensures that “Me” is always at the center, and the brand’s tone of voice is also, unusually, written in the first person—so that the customer, not the company, is the one talking. 
Base collaborated with MeDirect’s internal team on the visual elements of the app, which was developed in-house, including graphics that display financial metrics in a way that’s easy to understand. A very direct and sharp set of graphic guidelines help to keep the interface clean and digestible, while a palette of soft pastel tones marks a stark departure from the bold colors and predictable green shades used by many other online banking platforms.
We also worked with Brussels-based agency <a href="https://www.thisisfriendship.com/our-brands/my-money-my-choices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Friendship</a> on a video advert, for which we acted as consultants and brand custodians. Created for TV and online, this asset and the wider messaging are set to launch MeDirect—which is already active in Belgium—into new markets including the Netherlands soon, and more countries thereafter.

A banking app that puts users firmly in control of their finances

Pocket Money

The Cambium

Long time friends of Base Melbourne, Sally and Damien, had spent way too many hours at lifeless corporate retreats – drinking bad coffee under fluorescent lighting, sitting on uncomfortable chairs, with the same old routines… The entrepreneurial couple realized long ago there was an opportunity to radically rethink this sector, and provide a space where groups and companies could break out of the boardroom to gain clarity and innovate, through curated personalized experiences in a relaxing yet stimulating natural environment.
They stumbled upon the perfect location: an old Australian homestead, surrounded by National Parks in the heart of Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, and jumped at the chance to turn it into an exclusive-use venue for businesses looking to enact change, away from the distractions of the workplace. They had the property and the concept, but needed to bring it to life.
The surrounding environment, about as Australian as it comes, provided inspiration for the name. In the world of plants, a “cambium” is a site of cell regeneration, tucked away underneath tree bark or inside stems as a hidden, but a vital part of the plant’s anatomy. The Cambium, as a business, equally offers a place for organizational change and growth.
The architecture was restored and repurposed by Carr Architects with a contemporary and pared-back aesthetic, and this quiet and respectful approach was carried through to the branding. Guided by philosophy, and ideas surrounding contemplation in nature, workspace tropes and Post-it note yellows were blended together with natural hues and rusted materials that allowed the brand to blend into the architecture and the striking landscape.
 Photography by <a href="http://tomross.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tom Ross</a>.

An Australian rural retreat, worlds away from the boardroom

From Startup To Scaling up

A Sanctuary for Thinkers

Naming

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

In line with previous years, the campaign concept for the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR)'s 2022-23 season focuses on the lived experiences of audiences. Particularly, the way that classical music creates cathartic moments of deep and intense listening that are not just for the initiated, but all ages and backgrounds. This season, the connection between people and classical music is at the heart of the communication visuals. Silhouetted profiles that look ready to head-bop are set against block-color backgrounds. The subjects' ears are highlighted, with reverence for the primary sense involved while listening, and to celebrate the perception of sound shared between the musicians and the OSR audience during performances. A series of key words were chosen to describe the different emotions that may be experienced during these occasions of communion, and to remind us that the undulations of melodies and the strength of symphonies give rise to all sorts of feelings, upheavals, and sensations depending on one's personal experience. For the past three seasons, a close collaboration with Régis Golay of <a href="https://federal.li/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Federal Studio</a> for the campaign photography has given rise to radical and powerful images that break away from the usual codes of classical music, and resonate with the inclusive and contemporary vision of the OSR. This approach opens up unlimited perspectives and gives new life to this timeless musical genre, and the imagery helps to remind all of the multifarious benefits of music.

Spotlighting the multifarious benefits of classical music

Audio Visualized

Art Direction

Opus One

Opus One is in the business of making indelible memories. From organizing and producing concerts, shows and events, to booking talent and setting up monumental partnerships, the Swiss company’s close-knit, multidisciplinary team surpasses itself on a daily basis to share an insatiable cultural curiosity with the public.
Whether for a comedy show, theatrical production, music gig, or family festival, the team endeavors to invoke powerful emotions in all audiences and attendees. Base helped to push forward this very inspiring philosophy, and position the company as a true cultural player in its industry.
The identity we developed is both unique and multiple. Unique through a logo and distinct elements that elevate Opus One above its offering, and support its voice and vision as a content curator. Multiple in regards to a multiform, moving and adaptable visual universe that enhances the diversity of styles and audiences that the brand addresses, without preconceptions or prejudices.
We also worked closely with Opus One to assist in its transition to digital events, for a more direct connection with its audiences, and to return live, human interaction and shared experience to the heart of its communication.

A show-stopping visual universe for a multi-disciplinary production company

Making indelible memories

Urban Climb

Bouldering (as a high-performance sport) has grown exponentially in global popularity and recognition over the past several years, and more recently entered the international spotlight at the 2020 Olympics. Yet thankfully, despite its growth, the sport has retained much of its unique subculture and local-oriented ethos that attracted so many climbers to the sport in the first place. 
Capturing and expressing this attitude was key to creating an identity for Urban Climb in Australia. Their aim was to grow the brand without gentrifying or diluting its close-knit community, expertise, passion, or uniqueness in the world of climbing. Our approach to this was best encapsulated via the Urban Climb manifesto, titled Our Uncommon Ground, that highlights bouldering as a subculture, rather than a sport.
<ol><li dir="ltr">This place was made for you</li><li dir="ltr">Outsiders, inside, together</li><li dir="ltr">Hard to understand until you’re in it</li><li dir="ltr">Open to, but not for everyone</li><li dir="ltr">Take climbing seriously, not yourself</li><li dir="ltr">Embrace the hard stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Be mindful, always</li><li dir="ltr">There’s never one way</li><li dir="ltr">Fitness isn’t a beauty contest</li><li dir="ltr">May cause bruises and happiness</li><li dir="ltr">No bad climbs</li><li dir="ltr">Always be uprising</li></ol>
It was through this spirit that we created their very own DIY approach to branding. We provided the brand with a logo, a set of illustrated stickers, colours, typefaces, image treatments and tone of voice principles, allowing them to iterate and create long into the future. This meant that every brand touchpoint had its own unique application - an expression of play and like bouldering itself, never one way! Nothing went to waste, even the staff uniforms and branded merch we designed recycled our unused identity concepts. 
We also worked with the brand to create an iterative approach to the design of their annual professional and amateur climbing event, Boulderfest, by working with an illustrator to reinvent the theme year upon year. For 2021 we commissioned the amazing Jiro Bevis to bring to life the spirit of Boulderfest. The scene depicts good, the bad and the ugly side of bouldering! Chaotic, competitive, and a community love in, all in one.

A quintessential climbing brand for die-hards and newbies alike

United by uncommon ground

Copywriting

Mecca approached Base in mid-2021 to rebirth their long-dormant clean beauty brand “Kit” and reimagine it for the present-day customer. Our mission was to reinvent Kit through a complete strategic, visual, and communications overhaul – providing a new contemporary interpretation of the brand that maintained a genetic link to its past life.
Centering Kit around the idea of “modern formulas for all skinkind” we evolved the brand from its previously mid-century aesthetic into a representation of new-century living; a kit of products, built for skin and the world it’s in. The Kit of today is more egalitarian, more inclusive, and takes a broader and more holistic view of health and wellbeing.
From the vibrant red that unifies the many brand touchpoints; art direction that celebrates the natural ingredients and the Kit customer; the vessel, labeling, packaging, and physical spaces that playfully reimagine the traditional codes of apothecary; uniforms that juxtapose luxury and labor, and an experience that intersects health with pop-culture. Every aspect of the brand has been reimagined, and anchored in the present day needs of the customer, providing skincare that simplifies. 
Pop Up store fit out © Dot Dot Dash

A kit of products, built for skin and the world it’s in

Modern Formulas for all Skinkind

Packaging

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston’s principal art institution has one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas, an enviable assortment of masterpieces from centuries past, all the way through to contemporary icons. But, like many large museums, its grand Neoclassical building and prestigious reputation have in the past proven to be intimidating and off-putting to potential visitors. Even though the Museum of Fine Arts has evolved its programming to feature more diverse artists and community initiatives, external perceptions had not until recently aligned with this shift.
Pivoting MFA’s positioning involved reminding all Bostonians that its spaces and collections are for everyone, not just the elite. Through a new visual identity and messaging, the goal was to convey a sense of belonging for visitors of all ages and backgrounds, who should feel a sense of warmth, welcome, and inclusion in the museum’s communications, as well as see something new and surprising happening at MFA.
The new MFA logo more prominently features “Boston,” and literally connects the letterforms of the A and B to firmly tie the museum to its location. A bold, contemporary and slightly quirky type includes special glyphs that create a sense of belonging and connection; embracing from above and supporting below.
For visuals, a confident primary palette of white, black and the brand’s heritage red is supported by various vibrant shades. The messaging system incorporates a red triangle, an evolution of the museum’s previously used red square, as a flexible element to activate content that directs a viewer towards information and points to the future. It features as part of an animated ticker that reinforces the idea of news and excitement, and feels dynamic even when static.
The slogan “Here All Belong” was chosen for the relaunch campaign as a promise of active inclusion that reflects what the museum is, and stands for, today. It’s applied within a flexible visual framework supported by portraits from the MFA collection, which were selected from a diverse range of time periods and regions, and create a human connection to the viewer.
The arrival of the Obama Presidential Portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald at the MFA on September 2022 presented the perfect opportunity to reveal the new identity and slogan. Posters were installed all over Boston ahead of the exhibition, enticing a more diverse audience to the museum. Together, the revised identity and the campaign ensure that MFA feels welcoming and highly accessible, and that its world-class collection of art can and will be enjoyed by everyone.
<a href="https://www.basedesign.com/opinions/mfa-boston-art-credits">→ View artwork credits</a>

Reframing a world-class museum as a place for everyone

Art For All

Paléo Festival

Paléo Festival, a major cultural event in Switzerland, is enjoyed each summer by a quarter of a million attendees who come to experience music and shows across seven different stages. While its scale has grown significantly, the event’s grassroots spirit is projected through an exuberant yet coherent identity that also encapsulates the exhilaration of live performances.
What began as a stage in a community hall with 1,800 spectators has grown into one of Europe’s most important open-air festivals, attended by 250,000 revelers over six days and nights. During its almost 50 years of existence, Paléo Festival has undergone immense structural changes, yet maintained the spirit and flame that has kept audiences entertained and returning since 1976. Each edition features a cutting-edge program that aims to bring out intense emotions, while cultivating a sense of unconventional hospitality that seduces both international headliners and young local talent. 
At a turning point in Paléo’s history, the festival team asked Base to help assert its brand image and rationalize the use of its communication tools, from signage to digital. Without distorting the spirit of the event, and to anchor it in the present and the future, a concept was developed to offer a strong and perennial structure, while leaving a huge place to the creative freedom that Paléo has always cultivated.
The typography, with its dancing letters, pays homage to Paléo’s energetic attendees who move and vibrate together during the epic music sets. The type system, which also integrates the festival logo, defines a framework that’s powerfully recognizable, but flexible enough to integrate visuals that change with each edition. These posters are created in collaboration with HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design, during annual workshops that encourage students to push the limits of their creativity, while aligning with the values of the event.
Concluding another successful edition in August 2022, Paléo remains a prominent fixture on the European cultural calendar, and retains its ethos of openness and togetherness for all who attend. 
All footage from the official Aftermovie ©<a href="https://yeah.paleo.ch/fr">Paléo Festival Nyon</a>

Capturing the creative energy at one of Europe’s most important festivals

Jump for Joy

Théâtre du Châtelet

After years of closures for renovations and lockdowns, the Théâtre du Châtelet has fully returned with an identity and communications that celebrate the character and originality of individual performances. Detailed and vibrant illustrations were plastered across Paris to welcome visitors back to the historic venue, and remind them of the magic of a night at the theater.
 

The Théâtre du Châtelet has a long tradition of producing avant-garde musical, dance and theatrical performances for all Parisians, steered by a line of strong leaders as directors. As one of the city’s iconic venues, the grand building close to the Seine hosts many glamorous events, including the prestigious César national film awards, as well as countless operas and orchestral recitals.
Following two years of major renovation work, the Châtelet team asked us to rethink the visual identity and communications for the theater. This became even more critical when it was forced to close again during the pandemic, and an even greater effort was required to re-energize the teams both internal and externally, and get the place and its people up and running again. 
A strategy was developed by tracing this historic venue’s roots, in an attempt to understand what it is about contemporary musical theater that brings people together. Looking back into the archive, we discovered that visuals created to promote shows in the early 20th century did not include a logo, but title headers instead. So rather than creating a consistent identity, dictated by a toolbox of stiff graphic guidelines, we did the opposite.
Since each production at Châtelet is unique, with its own directors, composers and performers, a bold decision was taken to revert to the old way of advertising and communicate every show with its own header, visuals and typographic treatment—a dynamic and almost naïve approach.
Most theaters use on-stage photography for their posters, so to differentiate Châtelet, artists and illustrators were commissioned to create imagery for each production and season launch. A large illustration showing the theater building, and the activity in and around, was created by Virginie Morgand in four versions depicting Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, which were also used in sections to pick out details.
Accompanied by the tagline “Tous au Chatelet” (Everyone to Chatelet), this campaign celebrated the theater as a magical place to be, and encouraged patrons to return and rediscover the pleasure of a night out. These brightly colored graphics were difficult to miss around the streets of Paris. 
A close collaboration with Châtelet general director Thomas Lauriot dit Prevost and general secretary Anne Rubinstein involved choosing the illustrators and managing art direction, before handing over to their communications department for implementation execution.
The results of the strategy had a huge tangible impact for the theater internally, causing a shift in energy and providing a boost to the team returning after lockdowns. Whatsmore, the fresh approach to the visual identity has allowed Châtelet to continue to set itself apart from all other theaters in Paris.

Placing a beloved theater at the heart of Parisian culture

Clarifying Vision

Center Stage

R.S.C. Anderlecht

Thirty-four league titles, nine national cups, two UEFA cup winners' cups, one UEFA cup... RSC Anderlecht is Belgium's most successful football club. Since its foundation in 1908, the club has built a unique taste for victory and culture, mixing elegance, fair play, and spectacular offensive football often called “football champagne.” RSC Anderlecht has embodied Brussels's true open spirit for over a century and raised some famous international stars, such as Paul Van Himst, Frankie Vercauteren, Enzo Scifo, Vincent Kompany, and Romelu Lukaku. Yet, a football club can't live in its past, as glorious as it may be.
Football today is much more than a sport that gathers supporters once a week in a stadium. It has become a global subculture that brings millions of people together daily. Football fans are passionate about their club, colors, and players. They want to engage, participate, and dialog. They ARE part of the game. That is why it was essential for the club to transform into a genuine contemporary media brand. Koen Malfait, creative director, RSCA expert, and fan, was brought onto the project. It was essential to appreciate the legacy and ensure that every design decision would respect the DNA of the club. A Base crew of designers, art directors, strategists, digital experts, and copywriters was organized around him to interact with the RSCA brand team, led by Tim Borguet and Brecht Vaes. Our goal: reposition RSCA as a “premium club for everyone” (on the national level, multilingual, diverse, inclusive) and create the tools to allow the club to lead with a cultural impact on the communication pitch. The RSC Anderlecht indeed connects every day with various fan typologies: live (competition), love (community), and like (culture). The new RSCA brand toolbox and codes had to respond to the present and future needs of the club: starting naturally with the A-team but ranging as well from the Neerpede Academy—one of Europe's leading youth-talent football schools—to the women's team, E-sport, futsal, social initiatives, business and merchandising. The new RSCA ecosystem is dynamic, flexible, graphic, iconic, and easy to implement on all platforms. The historic crest is complemented with a series of graphic items such as the RSCA wordmark; the crown; the three stars; a renewed purple, black, white, and gold color palette; and a bespoke new typeface, acting as the visual voice of the club. These various elements combine to identify the different teams, build the sub-brands, or allow the creation of future initiatives. With its unique classic approach and cursive dynamic alternate, the new RSCA typeface (including the numbers) is starkly different from the type usually used by football clubs. This brand-new visual and textual toolbox will be applied across the board (social networks, online TV, web applications, newsletters, stadium screens), enhancing the digital and social impact of the club. Everyone at Base Brussels supports the club, and the ultimate goal is to help the teams, the staff, the fans, and everyone at RSCA to thrive on and off the pitch. The new RSCA identity will deploy incrementally over the coming 22–23 season. Stay tuned.

Rallying fans behind Belgium’s premier football club

Winning Goal

BVN is a creative collective of architects, designers, researchers and makers with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, London and New York. Connected by a shared vision for a better planet, passionate about problems and bold about solutions, they are simultaneously globally-minded and people-focused. It’s these ideas that underpin their new brand identity.
Using the logotype as point of departure we reimagined their new brand identity as an atom from which a comprehensive visual system evolved – from a custom variable typeface (developed in close collaboration with Vincent Chan), iconographic library, information graphics system, and beyond. All starting from the idea of an open box. This systems based approach provided BVN not just a powerful toolkit to showcase their work, but a means of celebrating work in process and speculative moonshot ideas, not just the final outcome. Thus solving a critical challenge when it comes to showcasing their large scale and complex work – that completed projects today were often designed 5+ years ago!
Architectural storytelling all too often considers other architects as the primary (or sole) audience. Not BVN. By employing a clearer and more conversational tone of voice, and showcasing projects didactically, BVN’s ninety plus years of experience is made accessible to the broadest possible audience. Welcoming the industry professional, prospective commissioner, student, or enthusiast equally.
Architecture as a profession is genuinely multi-authored, it’s also pretty messy and iterative (shaping the future always is). Collectively we chose to embrace these truths and showcase BVN’s work and internal culture honestly, from a documentary perspective. BVN as a practice operating in the world at large, and BVN under the hood. The result is a bright and exciting portrayal of practice as laboratory, and built environment as mise-en-scène. 
Bringing it all together is the BVN website, the culmination of almost 2 years working together. At its core are the tenets, a dynamic editorial presentation of BVNs core priorities, providing a deep understanding of their practice at a glance. Connecting projects to ideas not only creates unique ways to explore but it also ensuring audiences with limited architectural knowledge are respected and engaged. This consideration for the user is continued through the UI and UX, allowing users to dive deep into the site, but never get lost – rabbit holes with hand rails. BVN’s vast archive and myriad of ongoing projects are made more accessible than ever before.

Systemic change via system thinking

Collective Creativity

Film

La Prairie

Luxury skincare house La Prairie is renowned for its coveted, scientifically advanced beauty products that contain caviar, platinum and gold. Replenishing the logo and typography to reflect the purity, precision and excellence of this revered brand’s pioneering formulas has empowered it to continue to remain ageless. 

For over 90 years, La Prairie has held the best-kept secret of timeless beauty. This benchmark in luxury cosmetics brings science and nature together in products that defy the test of time. In terms of aesthetics, the brand has built its legend on the Swiss landscape, dominated by sculptural mountains and reflected in the deep blue of majestic lakes.
As Paul Niehans – the visionary Swiss doctor behind these high-end products – said, it’s all about “adding life to years.” With this same philosophy, Base has worked with La Prairie to write a new chapter of its identity: infusing the entire brand with essential consistency by combining precision, heritage and a Swiss vision of design to ensure its timeless beauty endures.
In the pursuit of absolute perfection, we helped La Prairie regenerate itself by intervening on aspects such as the logo, typography and watermark. These elements redefine the brand in ways that are both subtle and radical. Each detail helps reveal La Prairie’s history, but also conveys the excellence and clinical perfection the brand has been achieving for almost a century.

Rejuvenating a timeless Swiss cosmetics brand

Beauty Secrets

Divine Farmer

Rich storytelling through New Age motifs and a focus on education bring the Divine Farmer brand to life. Born amidst the post-pandemic age of self-care, this Californian wellness company sought a name and identity that could combine its roots in traditional Chinese medicine, and ambition to build deeper understanding and trust in alternative remedies. With mental health symptoms surging during the COVID-19 pandemic, nurturing mental and physical wellness had never been more important. Divine Farmer sought to address this by taking a broader view of wellbeing – addressing issues like anxiety, depression and insomnia.
It was during the pandemic lockdown that Polina Bowler—an acupuncturist and herbalist who runs LA based holistic wellness center 'East Meets West'—stuck upon the idea for the brand. Whilst restricted to counseling patients over Zoom, she had developed a blend of Chinese herbs and Nano-Emulsified Water-Soluble CBD to help those suffering from symptoms of anxiety. The feedback was so overwhelmingly positive that she decided to open her new formula up to a wider audience – and with that her first product was born. 
Naming this new venture required delving into the rich history of traditional Chinese medicine and mythology – it was through this process that we came upon the story of the Divine Farmer, an ancient mythological ruler who is fabled to have taught humans which plants could be used for medicinal purposes. The notion of a spiritual teacher perfectly mirrored Polina’s desire to provide education about alternative medicines and healing, whilst also encapsulating the only-natural nature of her ingredients. Ethereal, trustworthy, and natural: Divine Farmer encapsulated it perfectly. 
Building on the name, we embraced a contemporary New Age spirit for her visual identity; utilizing symbols inspired by mythological and natural references to tell stories of harmony, vitality, and earthly connection. Paired with a 1970s California-esqe palette of earthy hues, and an eye-catching luminescent yellow, the resulting brand packaging provides a fun and cathartic unboxing experience. 
With multiple new products under development, the world of Divine Farmer is constantly expanding. So check out the website to dive deeper into the Divine Farmer’s world of wellness and self-care.

Concocting a wellness brand through stories and symbolism

From Product to Brand

Herbal Healing

Dior

One of the biggest names in global fashion, Dior decided to share its fascinating story through a public gallery at its address of 75 years. A website that displays a 3D model of the brand’s Parisian home, and a digital companion guide to the physical exhibits both enrich and amplify the visitor experience at La Galerie Dior. 

From humble beginnings to global megabrand, Dior has occupied space at 30 Avenue Montaigne—now a storied address that encompasses a large corner building, close to many other prestigious Parisian fashion houses. To share the brand’s evolution from Christian Dior’s original vision in the late 1940s through to international success today, Dior decided to open a permanent gallery space above its flagship store to offer visitors the chance to learn about its history where it unfolded.
La Galerie Dior is designed as a journey through the building, touring various rooms on multiple floors that each have a specific link to the brand’s past. The old desk where Christian Dior sketched his early designs; the atelier where seamstresses crafted haute-couture garments; the salon where the brand’s first runway show took place… each space is treated uniquely through beautiful scenography, lighting, and audio-visual effects.
The Dior team required two elements to enhance the gallery experience: a website to provide practical information and ticket booking before arrival, and a digital visitor companion for use during the self-guided tour. The website went far beyond the brief, and includes a 3D model of 30 Avenue Montaigne that can be navigated room by room—similar to the physical gallery—with each transporting the user to a particular era and pivotal moment in the brand’s history. A further section will soon allow Dior to publish visually driven stories centered on specific themes, e.g. its application of the color red through the years.
For the digital companion guide, a progressive web app (PWA) that is publicly accessible over a URL was developed to avoid one-time downloads from the app store. Visitors use their own devices to scan QR codes found beside a selection of the gallery exhibits. Each takes them to an Instagram Story-style slideshow that offers a richer understanding of the object through video, imagery, quotes, and more.
Since La Galerie Dior opened in March 2022, the company has been overwhelmed by its success and popularity. The digital components have played a critical role in ensuring that the experience is rich with information, immersive in its storytelling, and accessible to as many visitors as possible.

Guiding visitors through the history of a famous French couture house

High Fashion

Le Crans

High up in the Swiss Alps, the Hotel LeCrans is a haven of serenity above the clouds. An identity that’s equally calming, and art direction that takes full advantage of the spectacular scenery, work together to represent a new luxury that comes from getting away from it all.
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and imagine you’re inhaling fresh Swiss Alpine air while hearing only the breeze rustle the trees and birds chirping in the distance. That’s what to expect when staying at Hotel LeCrans. Nestled into the steep slopes of Crans-Montana, a popular destination for hiking in summer and skiing in winter, the hotel blends into the green of the surrounding forest. Its remote location, and an inherent calm that only comes from a complete immersion in nature, allows guests to cut themselves off from the world. The pine scent, the bright sunlight and the breathtaking mountain views invite those staying to harness the restorative powers of nature. After years of existence, this mythical hotel and spa was transformed to regain its luster, while retaining its original appeal. The owners wanted LeCrans to be a home away from home, an experience that would be revitalizing and restful for every guest. Every detail of the space is designed to create an understated sense of luxury, far from the disturbances of everyday life. Pinewood paneling, unparalleled views, impeccable service, refined cuisine and a world-class spa all ensure guests feel deeply pampered and well cared for. A similar detail-oriented approach was taken to the renewed visual identity, which is crafted to provide a calm, discreet, and warm impression. The beauty of the natural setting is brought to the forefront. From the new logotype, appearing as if carved in the wood of a mountain chalet, to the artistic direction of imagery through which the dizzying landscapes reveal the raw and wild dimension of the mountains. Applied together across the website, marketing campaigns, social media and more, the identity and art direction present a timeless luxury that embodies the very best of Swiss Alpine luxury, tranquility and sophistication.

Escaping the everyday at a five-star Alpine retreat

Peace & Quiet

Biennale of Sydney

The Biennale of Sydney presents contemporary art from around the globe on the shores of Sydney Harbour, and the surrounding suburbs. As Australia’s most high-profile art event, it plays a vital role in Australia’s cultural engagement with the world.
The 23rd edition, titled rīvus (meaning ‘stream’ in latin) and curated by José Roca, is imagined as a series of conceptual wetlands situated along waterways of the Gadigal (Sydney) and Burramattagal (Parramatta) peoples, spanning 5 venues and including 330 artworks from 89 participants. These imagined ecosystems are populated by artworks, experiments, activisms and research, which together follow the currents of meandering tributaries, expanding out into a delta of interrelated ideas.
Working with our friends at <a href="https://zolo.press/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zolo Press</a> we created the visual identity, communications, signage, and supported in the production of a massive 572-page companion publication, all in deep collaboration with José and the Biennale team.
The rīvus identity which was inspired by the aqueous themes underpinning the program flows throughout mediums and venues, binding contributors and audiences together through language. This is made possible by the bespoke liquid typography developed in close collaboration with Biennale contributor Virgil Flores. Based on a printed garalde typeface, a surplus of ink fluidly connects characters, words and ideas.
To launch the event, we developed a campaign celebrating waterways from around the world as active participants within the Biennale. Our national poster and billboard campaign invited these aqueous beings into dialogue with urban environments throughout Melbourne and Brisbane, before building towards a crescendo in Sydney to coincide with the Biennale opening.
Arriving two long years since the last edition was cut short as Covid took hold of the country. This current edition opened at a time when floods ravaged Northern NSW and Queensland. Poignant timing that further served to emphasise how ecological crisis, and the effect of colonisation on First Peoples' custodianship of ecosystems, are far more than themes; they are a reflection of our reality.
Lastly, ‘<a href="https://www.biennaleofsydney.art/participants/a-glossary-of-water/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Glossary of Water</a>’, a monumental publication that exists as a companion to the Biennale, designed by Zolo Press with support from Base. Expanding the urgent topics of the Biennale far beyond its duration and location – the book highlights the deep connections that Australia has to its waterways and bodies of water. Following the logic of a glossary, it includes approximately 80 terms as headings and “definitions”, such as creek, dam, estuary, flood, weave and weft. Printed sustainably on excess paper stock of different types and weights from previous book projects, rather than recycled paper, the profile of the publication takes on the look and feel river sediment.

Collapsing the hierarchy between nature and culture

A stream of ideas

Book Design

Ace & Tate

For one of the most exciting eyewear brands in Europe, a sunglasses campaign with… no sunglasses. Instead, ads for Ace &amp; Tate’s Spring Summer 2022 collection featured people squinting from the sunlight—evoking a universal feeling that highlights a need for a product, instead of the product itself—as part of a wider strategic reframe.
As one of the most disruptive, pioneering, and successful eyewear brands on the European market since launching eight years ago, Ace &amp; Tate found itself at a turning point and gearing up for substantial growth. What started as a request for a campaign evolved into a full brand and communications strategy refresh in close collaboration with the in-house creative team. This process crystallized what the brand was all about. It drew out the essential, stripped away the unnecessary, and laid steady and unequivocal foundations for the next stage of its evolution.
The goal was to remind customers that Ace &amp; Tate is unconventional and daring; smart and out-of-the-box in everything it does, from eyewear design and production to retail experience and communications. Maturing the brand’s strong existing culture also involved bringing out its innate Dutch-ness—straightforward and resourceful—and its focus on sustainability. 
Armed with this renewed brand positioning and attitude, a striking two-part campaign for Spring Summer 2022 was devised to convey Ace &amp; Tate’s unique approach and cheeky/sunny personality. 
Part one of the campaign riffed on a universal feeling: being dazzled by the sun. Models were photographed by Martina Bjorn squinting in bright light, in desperate need of sunglasses. A campaign for shades without showing any sunglasses was a bold move, but the 'by subtraction' approach evoked rather than showed, underscoring a universal need instead of simply presenting the product as a traditional brand would do.
For the second part, the eyewear collection was photographed on the same models, using a strong zoom to first draw attention to the models’ expressions and second on the frames themselves. It was revealed just weeks after the first, to an audience whose attention and gaze were already captive. Apparently, it worked. The weekend after the initial launch brought the second-best sales day of Ace &amp; Tate history, and the campaign has been featured in multiple creative publications as well as all over social media.

Selling sunglasses without a lens or frame in sight

Bright Idea?

Daily Provisions

Casual all-day cafe Daily Provisions had a stellar team and a unique idea behind it, but its branding wasn’t quite rising to the occasion. Its established logo was subtly evolved into a full identity system and visual concept, preparing the company for expansion across NYC. 

Daily Provisions is a recent venture from restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer, whose Union Square Hospitality Group also runs beloved and acclaimed NYC favorites including Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, and more. His latest concept is positioned as a neighborhood kitchen that serves everyday favorites with extraordinary quality and service. This bakery, dining and coffee spot is intended as a place for pause in a fast-moving world, for those who appreciate care as much as convenience.
The original Daily Provisions identity had helped the brand establish a loyal audience, but didn’t provide enough for ambitions to expand. To enhance the brand, interventions ranged from redrawing the logomark for enhanced legibility, to imbuing the concept of a morning-to-night cafe into visuals and messaging.
Though Daily Provisions locations had an easily recognizable color scheme, this wasn’t reflected in the branding. The deep, inky blue of the storefronts was therefore extended across all visual elements, from packaging to marketing materials. Tweaks to the fluid hand-written logo—slightly adjusting character forms, narrowing spacing and increasing the weight—greatly improved legibility on facades and beyond.
The continuous line of the logo also became a metaphor for time. This simple graphic element evolved into a variety of illustrations by Lara Berg, which elegantly trace into forms that fit in three categories. Icons reflect the menu, Moments depict instances of joy and pause, and Scenes capture the energy of the cafe environment and the city. These unifying gestures refer to the everyday in a way that’s unexpected and extraordinary.
Since the updates, Daily Provisions has scaled-up from one to four locations across Manhattan—becoming not just a neighborhood kitchen, but the neighborhood kitchen in some of the city’s most dynamic locales. Yet despite fast expansion, the brand retains its commitment to delivering exceptional quality and surprise to everyday life. Try one of their crullers (if they’re not sold out) and you’ll see what we mean.

Refining the identity for New York’s neighborhood kitchen

Baked to Perfection

Sentral

Following a seismic societal shift towards remote work and nomadic living, Sentral has found a niche by offering short, long and swappable stays at apartments in the heart of America’s most desirable cities. A bright identity, playful art direction and iconic logo all embody the brand’s concept of Home+, which encapsulates this new approach to living. 

Sentral is an urban network of connected, residential communities that is establishing a new category in flexible living. A collaboration between real-estate investment firms Iconiq, Highgate, and Ascendant, the brand was born to cater for the fast-growing number of people no longer required to live or work in one place.
Sentral members can choose between furnished or unfurnished, serviced apartments in newly renovated buildings packed with amenities—staying as long as they desire in exciting cities like Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, and Miami. And when they’re ready for a change, it's easy to swap locations or temporarily rent out their apartments while away, all through a simple app.
Since the brand merges much larger ideas about how we live, travel and explore, Sentral required a bold and playful identity to tap younger generations who are increasingly adopting a more mobile lifestyle. A bright and optimistic shade of yellow alludes to the energy and opportunity that this way of living facilitates.
At the center of the identity—quite literally—is a “+” icon that not only replaces the “T” in Sentral, but represents the accretive concept of Home+ and all the additional benefits that come with being part of the Sentral community. The tagline, “Home is when you belong,” also denotes a community that is connected emotionally, as well as technologically through the app, at any time or place.
While the + symbol visually ties together all Sentral properties, illustrations by Chris Delorenzo adorn the walls of the building lobbies to encapsulate what’s unique about each location. Animated versions of his drawings also enliven the brand’s digital spaces. The playful sketches accompany photography that follows hospitality and fashion tropes, casting a wide array of characters to showcase the varied lifestyle aspects and inclusive nature of the brand. 
Sentral is poised to fundamentally change the way people live, setting a standard for a more open and flexible definition of “home”. After launching in 2021 across nine US locations, plans are afoot for national and international expansion so that very soon, Home+ will be available to a far-reaching community of potential nomads. Now that is a plus.

Facilitating a new flexible lifestyle for nomadic workers

Home Redefined

The Goodtime Hotel

Standing out among South Beach’s crowded hospitality scene requires a fresh outlook and approach, and Pharrell Williams and Dave Grutman had a very particular mood and atmosphere in mind for their hotel project. When it came to translating this feeling into a brand, the result was a subtle identity that’s intentionally subservient to the Instagram-ready interiors, high-quality service, and one-of-a-kind experience at The Goodtime Hotel.
Musician Pharrell Williams and nightlife kingpin Dave Grutman teamed up with Eric Birmbaum of Dreamscape to create a destination unlike any other in one of the world’s most distinctive tourist hotspots. Positioned in the lively heart of South Beach, The Goodtime Hotel was carefully designed to target the growing number of image-conscious younger people visiting the city for weekend escapes and group vacations in the sun.
The founders’ vision from the very start was to create an atmosphere that allows guests to feel immediately welcome and comfortable, no matter how they intend to spend their stay, and an aesthetic that quintessentially looks and feels like Miami. Branding this feeling required distilling all of the elements into a light, subtle, almost ethereal identity that blended with the other design elements. 
Theatrical and whimsical interiors by award-winning designer Ken Fulk blend tropical motifs and a plethora of pastel tones, creating the perfect backdrop for countless Instagram photos, and an endless stream of user-generated content that forms the backbone of the hotel’s marketing campaign. 
The pared-back logo, an abstraction of a Japanese “arigato” pose, references the high level of service and care put into the guest experience. The mark is sparingly applied to items like bathrobes and tissue packets, as well as the translucent room keys that serve as each guest’s passport to the good time wonderland. A similarly simple bespoke typeface, a typewriter-style in all lower case, adds to the casual, laid-back air of the identity. 
With the help of big-name clout and abundant social media coverage, the hotel immediately gained a reputation as the place to see and be seen in South Beach. While its identity is intentionally deferential to the strong personality of other design elements, it serves to complement and uplift the dreamy idyll of vacationing in style—whether that means lazing in a cabana, or dressing up for a night on the town (or both). Either way, the hotel’s popularity proves that it delivers on its promise to provide a good time, all of the time, for everyone who visits.

Branding a feeling at Miami’s hippest hotel

Happy Place

Mudam

When the Covid-19 pandemic forced the world online, museums also had to quickly adapt to this shift to virtual interaction. Exploring the idea of humanity today, Mudam’s Me, Family exhibition became a highly interactive and participatory digital experience that brought visitors closer to the art, and closer to each other.

Struck by a national lockdown, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Luxembourg (Mudam) was compelled to evolve its ambitious group exhibition Me, Family into an online visitor experience. By exploring alternatives to typical digital showcases and pushing technological possibilities, a highly interactive concept was developed to tie into the curators' vision, while placing the art at the center of the virtual exhibit.
Me, Family was a show about humanity today, and this theme was taken quite literally. Visitors could only enter the exhibition if they turned on their webcams, so people from all over the world were brought together in a way that felt very… of the moment. Participants could also customize their video stream with a social media-like AR filter. Once face-to-face with the art, they were able to interact in real-time with everyone else who was online concurrently.
The result was a never-before-seen, cutting-edge and engaging exhibition that directly involved every observer, rendering everyone an essential part of the experience. The outcomes were astonishing, with visitors debating art, conducting online dates, and even arranging stand-up meetings for their teams—all within the virtual environment.
During its eight-month run, Me, Family reached thousands of visitors from over 95 countries, a first for Mudam, while ensuring the integrity of the artists’ work and ideas. The project also allowed the museum to consider future opportunities for remote programming and events, bringing even more people together in an increasingly digital world.

Redefining the very notion of the online exhibition

Virtually Together

Iles de Paix

As one of Belgium’s oldest NGOs, Iles de Paix’s mission is to promote sustainable food systems across the globe. A thorough overhaul of visuals and messaging, completed pro-bono, firmly re-establishes its vision and values while incorporating an iconic representation of the brand’s fundraising efforts.
Everyone has the right to food. So for 60 years, Belgian non-government organization Iles de Paix has supported farmers and citizens in the development of sustainable food systems, sources of autonomy, security and quality food. 
 
The NGO raises money to fund specific projects in the developing world, each referred to as “une île de paix”—an island of peace—with the aim to move towards impactful change one step at a time. One of its earlier nationwide fundraising campaigns involved selling little plastic figurines, which became an icon across Belgium and are still associated with the brand today.
 
This humanoid silhouette has become a critical element of the new Iles de Paix identity, incorporated into the logo as a dot above an X, while also acting as a multiplier across the communications. It represents the volunteers, donors, team members, farmers, collaborators, and experts who all contribute to the organization’s meaningful efforts—a human chain around the globe.
 
Iles de Paix’s outdated visuals and messaging drastically needed to become more contemporary, attractive and dynamic, to compete with younger NGOs and to feel appropriate for a very different, more globalized world than when the organization first began. Through intense workshops with internal and external stakeholders, a total makeover resulted in verbalizing a new mission statement, clearer positioning, a new visual toolbox, a revised tone of voice, various campaign concepts, and even fresh ideas to raise funds.
 
The work for Iles de Paix was completed entirely pro-bono as part of an ongoing yearly initiative. Given the same resources and dedication as any other project, the team was able to rejuvenate the organization strategically, verbally, graphically and visually, so it can continue its mission to guarantee the right to food through enacting change in the fields, in our cities, and on our plates.

Nourishing the identity of a historic NGO

Food for Thought

For the engineers at Swiss company -T-, their work is much more than technical expertise—there’s a huge creative aspect too. The new identity for this century-old company highlights the rigor of engineering and the creativity it enables, while bridging the past and future of a tech-driven brand. 
All of -T- group's work goes beyond the realm of structural quality, durability and sustainability; it brings out the creative dimension of construction engineering. In forging the -T- brand image, we drew on the paradoxes inherent to the practice of engineering, which lies at the intersection of clients' dreams and architects' constraints. 
Using structural nodes and connections as a reference, a custom typeface was generated by manipulating letterforms with pinches at stress points and shifts that resulted in serif-like indentations—appearing both efficient and future-oriented.
Immediately comparable to a structural blueprint, the web and marketing graphics feature white type on a rich blue background. Furthering the parallels to construction drawings, the website is navigated with a crosshair cursor that constantly displays the x-y coordinates of its location on the page—similar to CAD programs.
Projects are presented online alphabetically, using large letters to organize the image-focused icons like a catalog. On each project page, photos sized almost full-screen demonstrate the scale and beauty of structural engineering feats, both completed and in-progress.
By consistently applying the contrast between high-tech and creativity to all the elements of -T- group's identity, we enabled the group to build a highly distinctive positioning in its domain, and to confidently assert its own world vision and ambitions for a future that’s built better.

A blueprint for spanning high engineering and creativity

Building Bridges

Comédie de Genève

A century’s worth of theatrical excellence has taken the stage at one of Geneva’s principal performing arts institutions. Now settled into a dazzling, purpose-built new home, La Comédie has an updated identity that matches its ambitions to shake-up reality with surprising, thought-provoking productions for another 100 years. 
Steeped in history, the Comédie de Genève has delighted theater-goers of all ages and backgrounds since its founding in 1909. Birthed to offer everyone access to art and beauty, it has grown into a much-loved local institution that, despite its name, evokes all manner of emotions through the wide variety of performances. Laughing, crying, and everything in between.
A recent move to a much larger, bolder building—designed by FRES Architectes in the city’s burgeoning Eaux-Vives district—has allowed directors Natacha Koutchoumov and Denis Maillefer to flex their creative muscles, scaling-up their experiments at La Comédie’s previous home into shows that fulfill their ambitious vision for presenting new perspectives on the past, present and future.
To accompany this important milestone, a new identity crystalizes the center’s boundary-pushing spirit. La Comédie welcomes everyone through its doors, so this identity had to be accessible and friendly, while still reflecting the ambition and thoughtfulness of the programming.
Each communication medium is envisioned as fertile ground for providing audiences with experiences that challenge and confront reality. Bright pink serves as a strong visual connector, and a typeface with vertically staggered letters both expresses a sense of movement and mimics the architectural profile of the new building.
Imagery that palpably displays the joy of reuniting with loved ones after so long apart was chosen to entice audiences to meet one another again at the unique building, turning it into a place that’s full of life. Messaging conveys the adventures that audiences can expect to encounter during the theater, contemporary dance, and circus productions hosted during the 2021-22 season and beyond, as well as sparking dialogues outside the walls.
The broader goal is to expand this platform for French-speaking actors to work with local and global directors, as a venue that’s open to both Swiss and international artists. The identity helps to elevate La Comédie to its position as a production house operating at a European level, and will enable it to reach new heights as an iconic theater with international influence.

Emboldening the theater of multiplied experiences

Provoke Reality

Bozar

Brussels’ center for fine arts Bozar is a catch-all for culture in the heart of the city. Eschewing a logo and empowering the ubiquity of its name, the institution’s updated identity converses with its audience, reflects its dynamism, and responds in real-time.
As Belgium’s number-one cultural institution, Bozar amalgamates music, fine arts, cinema, architecture, literature and more alongside a restaurant, a brasserie and a bookstore––all within a grand building designed by Victor Horta in 1929. Bozar’s rich offering draws visitors from all ages and walks of life, but its visual identity had become serious, rigid, and slightly boring. It was time for a refresh.
Taking precedent from some of Europe’s top cultural venues––with which Bozar plays in the same league––a more daring, flexible and impactful approach was required to elevate it from an established institution, to a leading name in Belgium and beyond. To achieve this, a set of five principles were laid out to guide a new identity and shape the brand’s future communications.
Firstly, acknowledging and leveraging the fact that Bozar has become a word with its own meaning and gravitas. Since the name was controversially introduced by Base in 2004, it has become ingrained in the vocabulary of Belgians and is used as both noun and verb. Rather than designing a new logo, we chose to simply embrace this moniker.
The second principle involved creating a conversational tone of voice––one that asks questions of its audience and invites them into a dialogue. Delivered via a neutral typeface and a unique multilingualism, with custom flourishes introduced through ornamental punctuation.
Next, communicating in real-time with messaging that reacts to current events and embraces the spontaneity of content created during its programming.
Principle four introduces radical simplicity, because less is more impactful.
And finally, acknowledging Bozar as a place in perpetual movement, constantly shifting its programme and audience, which is reflected in a modular visual system for its digital and social platforms that can be easily implemented by the institution’s communications team.
Bozar’s long-standing relationship with Base allowed for a deep dig into the heart of the institution, in order to rediscover and convey its energy in a living voice. More conversations have already started.

Lifting a Belgian icon from established staple to leading voice

Cultural Bazaar

For over a century, FTD has innovated in the floral delivery market by creating an international network of independent businesses, and connecting them with customers around the world. Tapping into the joy that we all experience through giving, a fresh identity brings the brand up-to-date, while celebrating its local-first approach, rich history, and stories of its talented florists. 
Way ahead of its time, FTD took a bottom-up approach to building a network of local florists, allowing these small businesses to sell and distribute flowers globally. It grew into a vast, wide-reaching international cooperative of florists who rely on the company’s logistical prowess to deliver lovingly prepared floral arrangements on behalf of customers. For over 111 years, the company has pioneered this shop-local model–one that is evermore critical in the post-pandemic world.
The floral delivery market has shifted to a more direct-to-consumer model in recent years, with retail giants and startups alike offering their own services. But what FTD can profess is a history of innovation, decades of experience and expertise, and a commitment to supporting independent, family-run companies that is more relevant than ever. A refresh of the brand had to restate this heritage and push the local-first message, so that FTD could once again become the leader of the pack.
Since the traditional etiquette of giving through handwritten notes and personal communication has been somewhat lost, yet remains wholeheartedly valued, the principal strategic move was to focus on this universal harbinger of joy––which also underscores the fundamental idea behind FTD’s business. Encouraging customers to “Give Better,” the new branding centers on the warmth and personal touches that go hand-in-hand with sending flowers, whatever the occasion, bringing FTD back to its roots at the forefront of personal giving.
The brand’s heritage was also reclaimed visually. The Mercury Man, FTD’s faithful insignia that is proudly displayed in florists’ windows in even the tiniest French villages, was too important not to retain. He is now accompanied by a logomark in a new contemporary typeface that also scribes the company’s founding date, providing a stamp of historic excellence and projecting its experience as a leader to today’s customers.
A lush and confident shade of green, chosen to complement blooms of all genera, forms the backbone of the identity. Simple art direction allows the beauty of the flowers to do all the work, uplifted by pale tones and soft radial gradients that highlight the shapes and hues of bouquets.
FTD’s relaunch galvanized the entire company; and the internal sales team delighted in sharing the updated look and feel with its florist collective––who now feel like they are part of a brand that truly represents their craft. Stories about these artisans also form a narrative through the company’s marketing and social media campaigns, providing well-deserved exposure to the businesses that facilitate the joy of giving, which is what FTD has always been about.

A heritage company reclaiming the lost art of giving

Flower Power

Virisens

Bringing together the best of nature and biotech, Virisens is the newest Swiss skincare brand combining the purest form of cannabis molecules with the latest generation of safe cosmetic ingredients. Appealing to a niche market of skincare connoisseurs with an affinity for cutting-edge cosmetology, Virisens was created with highly potent anti-aging ingredients while remaining vegan and cruelty-free. We worked on the entire brand identity and joined forces with advertising agency Miind for a 360° approach.

Giving your skin a cannabis prescription

Swiss Cannabis Science

The Substation

The Substation is a unique large-scale multi-purpose gallery, performance space and dance studio housed inside a former industrial building in Melbourne’s inner west. Presenting a curated program of contemporary and experimental work to a broad audience, while simultaneously operating as a vital community hub. The Substation inhabits a unique space within the Australian cultural landscape. What began as a website redesign soon evolved into a complete re-imaging of their brand and communications. Beginning with the visual identity, we proposed a system that operates much like file directory tree syntax. The forward slash within the wordmark acts to intersect and aggregate ideas, and allowing for endless experimentation and play. 
Supporting this system is an (anti-)logo designed to subvert the aforementioned structure, and to evolve over time. Launching with 15 iterations, these will be updated seasonally reflecting the artists and themes present within the programming in any given year. This curated aspect of the brand identity ensures it remains deeply and visibly connected to culture, and the context within which it operates. Building upon the ideas in the brand system, we redesigned The Substation website as an evolving archive. The new website provides greater access to the unique diversity of current and past programming, and a deeper perspective on the organization itself. Notions of compression and release are central to the experience of the new site; whether it’s the syntax of the page titles, the way content is blended together via gradient, or obscured via static and noise, or the “double squeeze” effect of the menu. Accessibility hand-in-hand with experimentation.

Emphasizing accessibility hand-in-hand with experimentation

Connecting Culture and Community

Berney Associés

Charles Berney founded the Berney Associés Fiduciary company in Geneva in the 90s. Although the family-run business is in direct competition with Switzerland’s Big 4, their main advantage has always been found in their personal commitment to their clients - partners and family members offering a deeply personalized approach. Today, the family business is being handed over to the next generation: Laurent, Frédéric and their associates. With a traditional background and history, the new era needed a fresh face that showed what the future of financial counseling looked like. The main goal of this rebranding was to create a contemporary but realistic image of the company’s future. Anchored in values of excellence, precision and safety it was also important to show the new approach of this young, dynamic and uninhibited business. We developed an image that set Berney apart from its competitors - a strong font gave the brand the personality it deserved and highly contrasted but corporate colors bridged old and new. Finally, we made sure Berney was ready for their sector's digital revolution by helping them build a strong on-line presence. We created a website that doubled up as a communication platform so the company could use it to update the conferences they were attending, business news, fun facts and case studies to help them anchor their practice.

How to brand the new generation of financial consulting

Sharp, Serious and Swiss

Caran d'Ache

2015 marked the 100th anniversary of Caran d’Ache, a Swiss favorite known worldwide, for school, office, art, and luxury writing supplies. In recognition of this momentous occasion, Base was tasked with concentrating its brand around a central identity that is unique, meaningful, and firmly rooted in its history. We created a new logotype and a custom typeface that pays tribute to the foundation story of the company and serves as a link between the departments of Haute Écriture, Office, and Colors of Caran d’Ache. The renewed identity serves as the foundation for implementing the company’s global development strategy.

Providing Europe's top stationary brand the tools to write its own story

Pen to Paper

West Space

West Space is a vital non-profit, artist-led organization in Melbourne, Australia, focused on supporting local and underrepresented artists at all stages of their careers. Base worked with the West Space team to evolve their brand identity, and develop a new digital platform that extends their art and ideas beyond the gallery space (while we were all stuck at home!). This involved close collaboration and heaps of trust, since the majority of the process played out over Zoom. Since its inception, West Space has challenged definition and championed diversity, creative freedom, and risk-taking. So early on we realized we needed to avoid a style-guide-driven approach to branding, in favor of developing a visual language over time. This began with a strong foundation; a new industrious condensed sans-serif typeface inspired by scaffolding. Its exaggerated punctuation provides the organization a distinctive visual language, while a unique set of symbols / emojis ties to its program. Operating as a metaphor for the role the gallery plays in supporting Australian artists and their work, it also acts as the scaffolding of the brand. A platform upon which to experiment and build. Upon this foundation we built West Space Offsite: a new digital platform rapidly developed during Melbourne’s COVID lockdown to enable publishing artist-led content online. Sitting both beside and beyond West Space’s physical exhibition program, it extends art and ideas outside of the gallery space. Coinciding with a move into a new physical gallery space in Collingwood Yards – an independent not-for-profit social enterprise – our work marks a new chapter in the West Space story. But it’s far from over. We’re continuing our collaboration with a comprehensive website refresh launching soon.

Rethinking the white cube gallery as a Rubik’s cube

Onsite offline. Offsite online.

Federal Studio

Federal is a Swiss studio, based in Geneva and Zürich, which specializes in photography. Its new brand identity reflects the studio’s artistic approach, one that melds contemporary art and the corporate world, deconstructs codes, orchestrates chaos, dabbles with paradoxes, and playfully arouses viewers’ senses.
In shaping Federal’s identity, we found inspiration in Helvetic culture and its many contradictions, like the tendency to seldom agree with one another yet always decide together; to abide by the rules yet shake them up when necessary; and, to be understated yet unabashedly quirky. These paradoxes infuse Federal’s vision in photographing art for business, and lead its work to reveal elegance in chaos, bring order to disorder, and deconstruct clichés by playing with established codes.
With its new identity, Federal has become a gateway to surprising experiences and unexpected face-offs. On its website, images are superimposed to create unsettling contrasts, and the tone of voice shows us how new meaning can arise from the joint use of totally opposite words: Iconic &amp; Iconoclastic, Beautiful &amp; Ugly, Chaotic &amp; Orderly… a universe of harmonious dissonance created by Régis Golay.

Harmonious dissonance

A gateway to surprising experiences

Mai Lam

Vietnamese fashion designer Mai Lam is a force of nature. Her fascinating and moving story from riches to rags to entrepreneurial artist has shaped a mindset that fuses pride in the history and culture of Vietnam with a contemporary vision of the country. And in combining workers’ jackets with intricately detailed embroidery, or vintage silk coats with knock-off t-shirts, Mai Lam’s garments embody this mindset in a collision of real and fake; cheap and chic. 
This creative chaos produces beautiful and original clothes, but previously caused some confusion from a brand perspective. One of her most prominent endeavors, the primely located Mai Lam boutique in Ho Chi Minh City needed structure and separation from her other artistic pursuits. Her fashion line required a strategy that would set it apart, and set her up for global success.
When the designer first turned to Base for an outsider’s input, we traveled to Vietnam for a photoshoot with our long-time collaborator Régis Golay. The photos immersed the apparel in the dynamic, modern city streets from which Mai Lam draws so much of her inspiration. Working alongside these two artists, we brought order and sensibility to their creative concepts, resulting in powerful imagery that truly captures the spirit of the brand.
The brand strategy that followed adapted existing elements––logotype, photography, narrative––into a framework that provided specific communications tools and a digital focus, to invite customers into her world via a website and social media.
Given total freedom, no expectations, unwavering confidence, and pure creativity, we transformed a disorganized artistic project on a fancy street into a revived, radical fashion label with clear vision, direction, and international appeal. Bringing a brand to a global stage that has a very local perspective, that’s inherently Vietnamese, and is reflective of Mai Lam’s boundless energy and masterful execution was a breath of fresh air for the world of high fashion.

Clashing cultural elements inform a dynamic Vietnamese fashion brand

Cheap vs Chic

Neybor

Co-living could solve the issue of increasing density in our cities, yet many brands that sell shared accommodation are cold, clinical, and not particularly enticing for potential residents. Belgium’s Neybor envisions the future of co-living as a series of much warmer, more soulful environments, and its identity leads with the idea that home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.
In the next 20 years, many cities are predicted to double in size due to overwhelming urbanization. While co-living seems to be a promising solution, the dominant tendency of players in this booming sector is to sell standardized adult dormitories by way of cold, generic brands. Neybor chose to view the concept differently. Founded by a group of architects and designers, the company obsessively focused on one central question: when does a space become a home? The answer was channeled into carefully considered interior design, building community spirit, and, of course, branding––which is where we came in. The brand identity was developed based on the intangible, yet universal idea that home isn’t a place, but a feeling. To bring this idea to life, talented illustrator Olga Prader was commissioned to embody this emotionally driven concept through a series of whimsical drawings. Her sketches seamlessly interact with subtle art direction and a witty tone of voice to create a soulful brand for contemporary living. Neybor’s tone of voice is casual, friendly, personal, and welcoming, as if potential residents are speaking to a friend inviting them to stay. Its website is set up as a place for telling stories about home, and presenting homes with stories. The uptake in Neybor properties has boomed, and the company has opened three locations in less than a year since launching. The brand’s home-oriented approach, putting its “Neybors” first and foremost, aims to elevate the standard of living in cities and a points to a bright future for the co-living phenomenon.

Ensuring that a co-living brand feels like home

Fair Share

Silversquare

Coworking pioneer Silversquare has provided spaces for entrepreneurs to thrive since 2008. But with a huge surge in competition from similar business models, the brand needed a refresh to prove why individuals and companies should choose its offering over others. A dynamic, user-friendly identity system comprising simple elements was designed to be combined in limitless ways, in the same way that Silversquare envisions its spaces.
Silversquare was early to the coworking game. Created by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, it workspaces for companies of various sizes across Belgium and Luxembourg, whether they require a hot desk, a private office, or a bespoke solution for a larger team. Each of the sites is designed and crafted by a guest decorator or artist to create uniquely compelling venues, As the popularity of coworking increased during the 2010s, so did the number of rivals offering a very similar model to Silversquare’s, and all touting their unique selling points or attributes. Silverquare needed help communicating the core characteristics that made it so successful initially. In this case, youthfulness and a flamboyant personality were what first attracted occupants. So these were reflected in a dynamic, user-friendly brand identity system consisting of simple elements that can be combined in limitless ways. A rudimental square became a tool for compartmentalizing information, visuals and various options for potential clients on physical billboards and marketing materials. On the website, the quadrangles are divided and shifted through animations, serving as flexible boxes that can display anything required. The tagline “The most exciting square meters in town” was added to give the impression of space to rent, while alluding to the vibrant communities that frequent the different locations. The “SQ” abbreviation applied across communications refers to the company’s name, and also implies an area of undetermined size to be utilized. By evoking a mastery of spatial planning, the new brand work helps to position Silversquare as an enabler for professionals and their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Branding the most exciting square meters in coworking

Hot Desks

ING Bank

When ING Bank held an exhibition of its contemporary art collection, the challenge was to lift visitors beyond passive spectators, and engage them as part of a dynamic conversation around the artworks. To do this, it was imperative to go beyond the typical poster/banner/website trilogy by creating a smartphone tool that would articulate the themes and kickstart the dialogues.
Hosted at the ING Art Center in Brussels, an exhibition themed around “Love. Hate. Debate.” was held to showcase the history, breadth and diversity of ING Bank’s contemporary art collection. Using the often polarizing and contentious nature of contemporary art, the intention was to invite questions and opinions from the audience––enabling them to draw closer and form personal connections with the works on display. To help facilitate participation in the debate, a holistic communications system was required that would integrate all aspects of the show: curation (what to see), communication (what to say), and experience (how to interact with it). A full kit of tools, from spatial to digital, messaging to imaging, web app to catalog, was developed to lure visitors into discussions. Upon entering the gallery, a larger banner read: “This is not an exhibition. And you are not just a visitor.” This set the scene for a series of introductory prompts; first impressions one might form when viewing contemporary art. "My kid could have drawn that", "Do you see what I see?", "It's just a piece of wood, right?" These statements and questions invited a wide and diverse public to entertain an open dialogue with the artwork. Avoiding the hassle of downloading yet another app, a Progressive Web App––a website that adopts app-like functionalities––was developed to offer supplementary commentary and additional information about the works and themes. It was critical not to distract visitors from the powerful emotional connection experienced when face-to-face with the art. Instead of a catalog, a book titled “Stories of a Collection” was designed as a keepsake––documenting the history of the collection and allowing narratives to continue far beyond the exhibition. The 360-degree approach to building a journey through the collection also encompassed texts, furniture, spatial layout, and images that together created a unified experience. The result of this co-curation and collaboration was a great symbiosis between ING and all the creatives involved in the process: designers, strategists, scenographers and developers. This synergy allowed us to imbue ING’s collection with intrigue and allure, and develop a unique story around the exhibition.

Inducing meaningful conversations around a contemporary art collection

State of the Art

Caudalie

A pioneer in sustainable skincare for 25 years, Caudalie required a makeover that aligned its packaging with the same eco-credentials as its revolutionary products. Applying a “Backwards Branding” methodology, the brand was built around the redesigned packaging that uses recycled plastic, and carefully sourced paper and materials, to minimise waste and lower the company’s carbon footprint.
Benefiting from the visual nature of social media and its ability to educate, the skincare market has seen consumers become more demanding of creative visual content and cleaner, better products––prompting brands to re-think their packaging, boxes, messaging and photography. One such brand is Caudalie, established in the French wine region of Bordeaux in 1995, where founders Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas created the very first vino-therapy beauty products. A quarter of a century later, the company decided to strengthen and clarify its brand to expand its cult following in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries. Using an approach we like to call <a href="https://www.basedesign.com/opinions/backwards-branding">Backwards Branding</a>, the work began by rethinking the first physical object the consumer interacts with: the packaging. Since Caudalie’s skincare formulations are all sustainably produced, it became apparent that its containers, boxes and wrappings should follow the same ethos. Refocusing on recycled materials, particularly plastics, and sourcing other materials with minimal environmental impact led to the creation of a new packaging system that better reflected Caudalie's commitment to sustainability. Straight-forward, visually striking, ecological and transparent, this packaging became the brand’s best ambassador. Launched with the Resveratrol Lift line of creams and serums, which received high praise on social media, the rebrand was rolled out gradually to allow Caudalie to transition to the refreshed look and feel. The new branding remains true to its original image but elevated with a more minimal aesthetic through discrete transformations of typography, iconography, logo and product color range. As our collaboration with Caudalie has continued, the company has also revealed its 100% Plastic Collect initiative––which saw it recycle 600 tons of plastic in 2020––and maintained its participation in the 1% for the Planet reforestation project. The brand’s commitment to sustainability is now apparent across its full output, so customers can rest assured that their purchases are both good for their skin and good for the planet.

A facelift for France's pioneer natural skincare brand

Skin Deep

Chinah

Chinah is introducing Americans to more traditional Chinese cuisine, with meals based on family recipes made using healthy and authentic ingredients. Breaking away from stereotypical take-out required a fun and flavorful identity inspired by the freshness of the food.
Hegel Hei, who serendipitously met Base during an event at our NYC studio, had a vision to flip the American perception of Chinese food on its head. He founded Chinah to serve authentic home cooking in a fast-casual manner, using his traditional family recipes and fresh ingredients to create dishes that are true to the culture, as well as healthy and delicious. The challenge was to develop a brand that felt both Chinese and American, breaking the stereotype while remaining respectful to other establishments.
Cleverly, “Chinah” is both an adaptation of the country’s name, and a translation of “eat where” in Mandarin. It’s presented in a plump bespoke typeface that was influenced by the food, and can be written on a single line or stacked vertically over two. Playful phrases like “Daily Yum” and “Tastes Like Home” also adorn packaging and digital assets, along with the color red—a symbol of luck, joy and happiness in Chinese culture—chosen in a brighter vermillion tone than restaurants typically use.
The art direction centered on showing the freshness of ingredients and demonstrating Chinah’s home-style preparation techniques. Similarly, the tone of voice is friendly, welcoming, and helps customers feel like part of the family around the dinner table.
Chinah now has multiple locations in the tri-state area and grand plans for regional expansion. With support from the local Chinese community and customers from every background imaginable, the brand is quickly gaining fans who fully appreciate eating Everyday Tasty Chinese food, prepared grandma’s way.

Flavoring a new take on Chinese fast food

Daily Yum

Energy Observer

Through expeditions and innovations, the Energy Observer ship is exploring practical solutions to accelerate ecological transition whilst developing new technologies in electro-hydrogen power. These big ideas and actions needed to be more approachable and understandable for a broad audience, so the data and experiments were translated into valuable, easy-to-read information that can be followed online by anyone.
Climate change continues to be a pressing but challenging subject in today’s world, and plainly explaining the issues and potential solutions to avert cataclysmic disaster has become imperative. One of these potential solutions, the advancement of hybrid electro-hydrogen power, is the focus of Energy Observer—a repurposed racing catamaran exclusively powered by this renewable energy source. The brainchild of sailboat racer Victorien Erussard and professional diver Jérôme Delafosse, who hope to raise awareness of a more sustainable future, the project involves a seven-year expedition around the world to highlight pioneering energy alternatives, and explore green solutions through science and tech. Due to the complexity of the project and the topic, Energy Observer required a brand and a digital experience that could clearly communicate its vision and goals, and allow the public to follow along with the journey. With an “Elon Musk meets Cousteau” feel to the project, a global narrative was crafted to simplify Energy Observer’s story as the mother brand, and to embody its two principal elements. The Odyssey charts the journey of the vessel itself, allowing audiences to follow the “logbook” of the catamaran in real-time via an immersive dashboard on the website. A map and a timeline that track its route reveal, with a simple click, additional information about each stage of the voyage and the content produced. The Innovations portion of the site uncovers greater detail about the Energy Observer laboratory, and its research and development across science, engineering and technology in renewable energy. Since Energy Observer set sail in 2017, the team has made huge strides in demonstrating the possibilities of hybrid electro-hydrogen as a green energy source. By sharing its progress in a clear, coherent and visually compelling format, it is educating a wide audience in the potential of this game-changing technology, which could be critical in the fight against the impending climate crisis.

Clarifying the mission of an experimental round-the-world odyssey

Push the Boat Out

Allies and Morrison

While most architecture firms use a website to display a portfolio of work, the Allies and Morrison site offers a much deeper exploration into the context and empathy behind each of its projects. Conceived as a “hub of knowledge”, the digital experience reveals previously unseen facets of the design process, and has become an important tool of discovery for both internal and external use.
In contrast to many “starchitect” bureaus, Allies and Morrison approaches its work with a focus on fostering communities through context-driven projects. The international firm of architects and urbanists based in London has a growing team and strong convictions on contemporary architecture, so decided to embark on a rebrand that better reflected its heritage and aspirations. An extensive strategy phase led to the idea of using the website as a platform that deeply reflected the very essence of Allies and Morrison's practice, which would also become the primary medium to express and define the new brand personality. The focus shifted from the firm itself to the projects, and their impact on the wider environment. Traditional brand codes like the logo were therefore deemed less important, while philosophy was pushed to the fore. Instead of finding the practice name in the top left corner of the homepage, a search bar invites visitors to explore an immense hub of knowledge. Internally, this function serves as a database so employees can easily find specific projects or initiatives. Externally, it allows curious parties to type in any word, material, location, process or team member and discover all of the content linked to their search. The classic navigation tabs are replaced by themes and preoccupations that are important to Allies and Morrison, and direct links to drawings and models that sit at the very core of the craft. Since the firm is more concerned with location context––whether that’s from a historical, ecological or societal perspective––than solely the appearance of the finished building, the portfolio section of the website is designed as a space for extensive case studies that take the reader through the full process and story of each project. Stepping away from the classic portfolio website often presented by architecture studios allowed us to brand Allies and Morrison through a digital experience, using their values and beliefs as the main elements for their new identity.

Unearthing the DNA of one of the UK’s most prominent architecture firms

Site Specific

La Monnaie

Brussels’ La Monnaie views the historic art form of opera through a present-day lens, so its communications should equally reflect our society today. For over a decade, Base has collaborated with artists to create provocative and visually arresting campaigns that are unique and unexpected each year—firmly positioning the opera house as a leader in its cultural field.
Most opera houses have a tried and tested formula for their communications, typically involving imagery of singers and sets, “baroquesque” typography, and name-dropping Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and the like. But under the direction of Peter de Caluwe, La Monnaie (a.k.a. De Munt) in Brussels has approached opera as a contemporary genre that bridges the past and present. His intention is to align the historic art form with modern society, addressing prominent issues and current affairs that affect people of all backgrounds. Based on this vision, we created a new visual identity for La Monnaie in 2007, and have since helped the director to communicate his ideas through annual campaigns. From the outset, we challenged the art direction by avoiding the classical and cliché opera imagery. Instead, we decided to collaborate with a different visual artist on each seasonal campaign, to gain access to beautiful and unexpected imagery. The new visual voice of La Monnaie became metaphorical, radical, cinematographic—the language of fashion and beauty—and brought a fresh and surprising perspective year after year. For the 2019-20 season, in line with a new seasonal structure that shifted from thematics to an “architecture” centered on creativity, illustrator Charlotte Chauvin “remixed” the La Monnaie identity with emotion-driven, Cocteau-style drawings connected to the pieces of the program. In 2020-21, de Caluwe felt it critical to explore the decline of democracy and society’s trust in politics. These themes were embodied in actual, grotesquely dramatic media snapshots of white male parliamentarians physically fighting in their respective country’s chambers of democracy—images so arresting that they appear to be staged. In capturing today’s unnerving political turbulence, the campaign aligned the institution directly with contemporary culture. Outside the expected channels like billboards and brochures, La Monnaie’s communications have also involved a freely distributed magazine that brought the opera world to life. We chose the name MMM, or Monnaie Munt Magazine, to address Belgium’s bilingualism and reach a larger potential audience. For more than a decade, we’ve channeled the intrinsic creativity of La Monnaie through artistic collaborations, divisive visuals and an evolving contemporary identity – helping the opera house become and remain a landmark in the field of culture. We’re still hitting the high notes in harmony.

Harmonizing opera with contemporary culture

High Notes

Deezer

In the competitive landscape of music streaming apps, Deezer needed to offer its users a real, personalized experience. Based around a single idea, “you bring the moment, we bring the music,” a specific interface was introduced across all dimensions of the brand via a shared visual vocabulary – from the smartphone to the ads – to which music lovers could feel a genuine connection.
Digital streaming quickly overtook physical CDs and records in the mid-2000s to become the dominant resource for playing music, and competition between various apps offering similar services was immediately hot. Personalization became the key to enticing users to favor a particular platform, since music choices are driven by individual preferences, moods, and tastes. For French company Dezeer, our plan was to advertise curated track selections that catered towards all of life’s moments, essentially providing a soundtrack for every occasion. In verbalizing this strategy and crafting a tone of voice, we created a simple system to show what Deezer can do for its listeners: You bring X and Deezer brings the music. Uniting the brand’s communications and its app through one shared visual (hieroglyphic) vocabulary, a mix of typefaces, icons, colors, and shapes were applied across all channels and media. This created a seamless experience where the borders between print and digital, product and brand disappear, and on-line and off-line are constantly overlapping. It also allowed Deezer to adopt a more organic and consistent approach to its communications. With users spread across 180 countries, the brand’s character had to remain consistent yet adaptable to local requirements and cultures. To highlight Deezer’s ability to amplify life in whatever situation, the brand uses a playful tone of voice that is always culturally relevant and on point. Ultimately, we helped Deezer develop a coherent and unified brand that speaks to users all over the world, and gave them the tools to transform music listeners into music lovers.