Above the Fold

Made in Brunel is a student-led programme that facilitates the connection between Brunel design and the greater creative community. Each year aims to learn from the last, bringing something new and exciting to the brand, with 2021 carrying the theme: Above the Fold.

Year

2021

Client

Made in Brunel

Discipline

Brand identity, Merchandising

Role

Brand Manager

An image of a newspaper showcasing the primary 'Above the Fold' brand assets.

Project Overview

An award-winning, student-led brand initiative.

Brief: Help promote the incredible work students produce and establish strong links between the design department and industry by creating the visual identity for Made in Brunel 2021.

Co-designed with Yasmine Fell.

Target Audience:

Brunel design students in their graduating year aspiring to break into the industry, and for industry leaders looking to hire and explore up-and-coming design talent.

Research

Adaptable, Connected, Innovative, Inspired & Tangible.

This project and its result were based on research in many fields, including information consumption, audience, commercial presentation, and most importantly, branding methodology. The brand's identity and guidelines were created using the brand onion strategy - to capture the essence, values and personality traits that differentiate 'Above the Fold' from Made in Brunel's previous annual identities.

'Above the Fold' is a classic newspaper term, now widely used in digital media. Brunel designers have a knack for problem-solving and producing consistently headline-standard work.

An image showing the brand onion diagram.

Design System

Bringing together the brand.

The new identity returns the original, iconic 'Made in Brunel' colour palette to its primary position, coupled with a custom typeface and a range of assets to add a vibrant personality to the brand.

Logo

The 'Above the Fold' logo blends visuals from type and origami to represent a student's design journey - deviating off course and finishing on top.

The 'Made in Brunel: Above the Fold' logo.
Typography

Two sans serif typefaces were chosen for both their aesthetic appeal and readability at small scales.

A grid showing the typefaces and styles used throughout the 'Above the Fold' branding.
Color Palette

The playful interaction of the three primary colours, coupled with playful shades
of mauve and teal, is a visually powerful portrayal of the brand.

A grid showing the primary and secondary colours used throughout the 'Above the Fold' branding.
Brand Assets

For the assets, we decided to opt for a style that was minimal yet colourful, created to supplement the logo and for use in cases to
increase visual satisfaction.

A grid showing the decorative assets used throughout the 'Above the Fold' branding.
Animated Logo

The logo was separately animated to visually satisfy viewers across media platforms.

An animated GIF of the 'Above the Fold' logo.
Launch Video

With the brand film, we wanted to communicate the physicality of the logo and brand name, which led to the concept of creating a physical copy of the logo and filming the process.

Delivery

#pleasefoldresponsibly

'Made in Brunel: Above the Fold' concluded in Summer 2021, after a successful year of student work and events.

Highlights for the brand included: hanging 6-metre long banners from the lecture centre, hosting a design challenge in a virtual building, selling out of a record amount of merchandise, and launching the first-ever 'Made in Brunel' Podcast.

An image of the Brunel lecture centre, with 'Above the Fold' banners.
An image of the virtual Brunel campus created by Oliie Singleton for the '24 Hour Design Challenge' in Hopin.
The Annual Book

I helped oversee the production of the first hand-finished edition of the annual book, from its initial conception, through editing and fulfilment along with the Publication team.

An image of the 'Made in Brunel' annual book - showcasing the 'Above the Fold' branding.
An image of the folded letters to be embossed and folded onto the front cover of the annual book.
An image of a PANTONE © colour guide used for checking the correct colour application on the front cover of the annual book.
Merchandise

The 'Above the Fold' merchandise collection was
created to compliment the brand; by bringing in
elements of streetwear design, I created iconic
pieces of bold and unique clothing.

Find out more on Behance.

An image of a few 'Made in Brunel' team members showcasing merchandise in front of large, orange 'BRUNEL' letters.
An image of Carys and Luca showcasing the 'Fold Modern' shirt.
An image of Ollie and Paramveer showcasing the 'Singletone' sweatshirt.
An image of Chloe showcasing the 'Classic Embroidered' sweatshirt.
An image of Paramveer showcasing the 'MIB 8888' shirt.
Final Showcase

In June 2021, Made in Brunel took over the Bargehouse on London's Southbank for the annual 'Showcase' event.  I was seen designing the event decor and setup, including wayfinding, signage, flyers, leaflets, and award trophies.

A rendered image of the Oxo Tower in an 'Above the Fold' style, for promotional use on social media.
A rendered image of a folded piece of paper, for promotional use on social media.
An image of 3D printed 'Above the Fold' keychains.
An image of the branded entrance to the Bargehouse showcase.
An image of the 'MIB TV' studio with Paramveer and Toby.
An image of the showcase reception area.
An image of the custom made 'Above the Fold' student trophies.
Highlight Montage

We had some amazing online events throughout the year, and I’ve wrapped them all up into this quick highlight video.

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