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A PRACTICE FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
devoted to the work of local modernist sculptor Barbara Hepworth. Research formed the core of the design studio’s approach. After all, how do you absorb everything you need to know about
a project without knowledge and understanding?
APFEL wasted no time in delving into every facet of the Hepworth job. First, it developed a bespoke typeface for the gallery. “We wanted to echo the strong British modernist typography of Barbara Hepworth’s era,” explains Carter. “You have typefaces like Gill and Gill Sans, but we didn’t want to use those typefaces because they’re so recognizable.” The resultant typeface and identity reflected the gallery’s architecture. “The angles are based on the roof of the building,” Thomas adds. “It’s like a wharf building you’d find by the weir in Wakefield.”
Even the colors Carter and Thomas picked show the designers’ thoughtful connection with their subject. “We pulled the teal color from the oxidizing of copper and bronze in Hepworth’s sculptures,” Thomas says. “We wanted to bring a bright color to the palette, but for it to stem from her work.”
Carter continues the thought: “For another color, we selected this deep red, rust-like orange. We formed quite a bright, unusual palette based on the colors that appear when sculptors use different metals.”
The museum’s identity system took about four years to complete, including the typeface, wayfinding and signage, brand guidelines, and other materials. Unveiled in 2011, the project really showed the world what APFEL could achieve. Thomas and Carter continued with book and exhibition design all the while, but with the publicity from the Hepworth identity, they could now begin to explore broader areas of culture. One ambition they had always had was to work for
This page: From left: Kirsty Carter and Emma Thomas.
a luxury restaurant or retailer, and they realized their ambition with a project for hotel and restaurant One Leicester Street.
Carter explains the thinking behind One Leicester Street’s wine list as she opens it. “The idea was to illustrate all the ingredients of wine—the fortification of wine and how it’s done. And then there’s a gin list that features the ingredients and makeup of gin. Because the restaurant is located near Leicester Square and is in the heart of theaterland, we wanted the menu to be like a souvenir.”
Additional clients, including WallpaperSTORE* and shoe brand Camper, brought APFEL’s design work into the retail sphere. Recently, the studio worked on an identity for the luxury shoe brand John Lobb. Owned by the high-fashion brand Hermès, John Lobb is a French brand that was founded by an English bootmaker more than 100 years ago. Again, APFEL produced exquisite results through extensive research into the John Lobb archive, absorbing all of the details and coming up with an array of ways to use them.
An extraordinary person, Lobb began his career when he walked from Cornwall to London before journeying to Paris. This inspired APFEL. “His epic journey formed the basis for all of the print materials that we were creating,” Thomas says. “The influence of nature, the environment, the ground he trod on—it influenced the photographs that we used for print materials. We created an invitation for one of Lobb’s collection shows that mapped his journey.”
The studio refined the identity from the original logo. Even the color of the shoebox—which APFEL calls “russet”—reflects the earliest burgundy packaging. APFEL textured some print materials to mimic the rasps used to wear down and soften boot leather, and flecks dot the tissue paper inside the shoe- box like little shreds of leather that have come away in the shoemaking process. APFEL subtly subverted the brand’s luxury position by including hints of the toil, the tools and the waste in its design.
This attention to detail is what APFEL’s clients appreciate. Curator Jens Hoffmann first met Carter and Thomas in 2004, when he worked at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London; he still commissions them in his new position as deputy director at the Jewish Museum in New
Right: “Arts organization Artangel and BBC Radio 4 commissioned Master Rock, a radio broadcast and series of performances recounting the tale of Ben Cruachan, a mountain in Scotland into which a group of workmen—known as tunnel tigers—carved a huge chamber to create a vast hydroelectric power station. Maria Fusco conceived and wrote the pieces in Master Rock and performed it at Ben Cruachan in October 2015. Our book design combines archival materials and photography of the power station’s creation with geographical information and an account of the mountain’s mythology. The design’s usage of Futura and its varied treatment of images mimic pocket-sized educational handbooks popular during the 1960s.” Maria Fusco, writer; Artangel/Book Works, clients.
“House of Voltaire, a pop-up store selling artworks and objects by leading contemporary artists, raises funds to support Studio Voltaire, a South London–based nonprofit arts space. First launched in 2010, the store has since opened biannually at a variety of venues across Mayfair, in the western part of London. Taking cues from letterforms found on painted signage and old shop windows in the area where the first House of Voltaire appeared, our type-led identity for the store encompasses a broad range of items, from traditional handwritten signage on the front door and interiors to staff overalls, packaging, bags and tissue paper.” Studio Voltaire, client.
52 Advertising Annual 2016
© Carol Sachs