A multi-award-winning brand and communications campaign for the UK's national development agency for creativity and culture.
Challenge
Arts Council England fund artists and arts organisations of all sizes all over the UK. When they open their funding portal for applications they need a huge amount of communications materials to explain how they work and how to apply. They came to us to create a brand system that would give all for all Investment Process communications a consistent look and feel.
Context
The Arts Council are a British institution, a hugely respected organisation that everyone working in the arts and culture sector will be familiar with. In creating this brand and a suite of communication assets we had to get the tonal balance right. It had to be positive and joyful without being flippant or unprofessional – serious and considered without being stuffy or corporate.
Arts Council funding can be transformative to artists and arts organisations, so applying for and receiving funding is a time of celebration for many. But it can also be a challenging process and will not be successful for everyone. So it's a really positive story to tell, but one that has to handled with care and sensitivity.
Nourishment and growth
We created a brand concept based on organic forms and patterns, reflecting the nourishment that Arts Council funding provides and the and growth that is supports.
The icons for each funding band are made up of petal shapes, the other icons in the funding hierarchy and the brand illustrations are formed from the same system, as well and other and other geometric shapes which can be combined as building blocks to create scenes.
Clarity and Creativity
Arts Council communications materials often include complex information, so the design style had to add clarity whilst still representing the organisations commitment to development creativity in the UK.
Funding from ACE can be transformative to artists and arts organisation, the branding had to reflect that and tell a positive story, whilst striking the right tonal balance of authority, and credibility.
Digital and print
When the Arts Council funding portal opens there a huge amount of applications and a lots of guidance and advice needs to be created to help guide people through the process. This can be online, in print and communicated on social meda. The brand was built to be capabl of flexing to work in many formats on a multiple channels.
The result
This has been the Arts Council’s most successful communications campaign yet! It’s resulted in record-breaking online engagement, and a big increase in applications.
The project has received industry acclaim, too. It was Highly Commended in the International Drum Design Awards, and won four Big Chip Awards – Best Use of Animation, Best Use of Digital Design, Best Public Sector Campaign, and the Grand Prix Award for the best overall work of the year.
Flow brought fresh and interesting ideas to the table as we developed the look and feel for our communications. They really listened to what we needed, what our challenges were and what success would look like for us - and I have to say they nailed it for us.
