Silver Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design · 2017
ACP Alpha Container Pictures Corporate Design
by Julia Hell
- A' Design Award 2017 Silver Winner in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Awarded April 15, 2017
- CLIENT: Alpha Container Pictures
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 42,493
- Verification code 2265D2389E · Verify this award
About ACP Alpha Container Pictures Corporate Design
ACP Alpha Container Pictures is a corporate design created for a film production company based in Berlin. The logo combines the short form ACP with the complete company name. Two typefaces are used, a stencil font of the type applied to freight containers and a technical monospace typeface similar to typewriter lettering. The logo also introduces the color scheme, which appears on printed business documents and on the website. The letterhead measures 210 by 297 millimeters and the business card 55 by 85 millimeters. The responsive website opens with full screen video content.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This is a corporate design for a film production company based in Berlin. The Logo is a combination of the short form of the company name ACP and the complete name. I used two fonts, a stencil font which is often used on freight containers for shipping goods overseas plus a monospace typeface analogue to a typewriter but very technical. The Logo introduces also the color scheme of the corporate design which can be found in both, printed business documents and on the website
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The Letterhead is a classical DIN A4 Format, 210 mm x 297 mm, the business card has dimensions of 55 mm x 85 mm. The website is fully responsive and adapts to all common device sizes.
- Tags
- Corporate Design, Branding, Logo, Business card, Webdesign, Website
- Production Technology
- The Logo was designed in Adobe Illustrator, all print documents were layouted in Adobe InDesign. For the webdesign I tried Adobe XD for the first time to create a fully responsive design for the page. The website was later built in Drupal with SASS and jQuery.
- Design Challenge
- The hardest part was to find a typographical solution for the company Logo. In my first drafts I focused on the full name and the shortened Form was more of an accessory accompanying it. Then my client came up wit the idea of an actual container font he really liked and I started playing around with it and this time wit the short form as the center element. I liked the international aspect to the container font since the company is producing contend all around the globe. After some tests I combined it to a monospace font and then we were there.
- Project Duration
- The Project started in December 2015 in Berlin and is still ongoing, since the company is still growing an I am still in charge of new design tasks. We had two milestones with the release of the Logo and business papers in April 2016 and the launch of the website end of February in 2017.
- Operation Flow
- In terms of the website, I focused on showing as much video content as possible, since this is what the company produces. Due to my research results this makes a huge difference when it comes to the presentation of the company. It is always valuable to show the actual product. This is why the design uses elements like e.g. navigation, Social Media icons thrifty. The page focuses on video and of course features news of upcoming projects and broadcasts. But the entrance to the website features fullscreen video imagery that show how emotional and impressive the work of acp is. And that at first sight.
- Research
- After the Briefing, I started a research of german TV and film production companies online. Assuming the websites, branding and identities of these companies to be very creative and up to date, since they produce creative content for a medium with such a high coverage of different target groups like mass medium TV, I was proven to be wrong. Many pages are outdated style wise or also technically. Plus all of these companies produce video content and non of the pages I came across, actually displayed one on their page. This made me decide to open big with actual video content.
- Inspiration
- The focus during the whole design process was to create a unique corporate design that will work together with moving imagery. ACP has a strong focus on documentary films and coverages. We were aiming for a serious playfullness in a modern but also timeless way. The challenge was to find a way to transport these contrasting views into one design to resemble the brand. The research for the typography mix and color scheme were in the end influenced by the Container part of the companys name.
- Patents
- None
Colors of ACP Alpha Container Pictures Corporate Design
Get ACP Alpha Container Pictures Corporate Design
Design Interview about ACP Alpha Container Pictures Corporate Design
The design focuses on the idea of transparency. The stencil art typeface supports the idea of having always an extra layer for the logo, like it is painted onto the surface.
My research showed that a lot of film production companies don't show their strongest imagery (moving pictures) online. The idea was to create a website that focuses on video content and to show the handwriting of the company in a sophisticated way. The stationary and business cards accompanying the design in the Brand color tones.
I can imagine to expand the range of stationary and create some branded giveaways for the company to spread the word.
The concept was created in two month but the whole process of designing took almost four month. We are still working together on finalizing the website which is a work in progress state right now.
I always start by showing my clients a variety of three ideas to get a glimpse of how I see their work and what I can imagine it to look like in consideration of the first briefing. After this step my client wanted to try out wit a stencil font (the Container OT, which goes together nicely with the company name) and we went on with that idea together to shape the brands logo.
The design was created for a company in the first place and will e used by them exclusively as a corporate design.
First of all the briefing and second the results of my research. Companies producing video material like documentaries and reports should have a bold brand. They also have to compete to sell their work to broadcasters. Most of these companies have a very shy appearence. I wanted to create a bold brand identity for my client.
Well I always try to make my designs as functional as possible and follow the idea of »less is more« in my creative process. Even if I try to make something very expressive and playful I catch myself kicking out elements and reducing it very quickly. So I guess I am very influenced by Bauhaus in general and Dieter Rahms in particular.
The target customer will be the TV broadcasters who buy my clients productions for their program.
The variety of content we show. We have big imagery and, more importantly video content. On the website you have three to four full screen mood loops before you enter the page. After that you can browse the categories magazine and reports and you will find either the link to the complete video or making of material accompanied by some stills and perspective some photos from behind the scenes.
The name already existed. My client named his company Alpha Container Pictures. Both, alpha and container are elements of a video (e.g. alpha channel) and containers help to determine the format of the video. Plus alpha also means first – which can be seen as a positioning of the company among the competition.
Adobe: Illustrator, Indesign, XD, Photoshop. Web: Drupal, HTML, CSS, Javascript
The usage of fullscreen moving imagery on the web.
I collaborated with my husband, who is a full stack frontend developer who brought my ideas for the web to live.
Technology actually has a leading role in the design. We used it for the web solution to create a up to date platform. Since the video technology also changes a lot and topics like resolution or 3D become more and more important design needs to be flexible and adaptable to these changes.
My client showed some websites of competing companies and I also researched the web to get an overview of the business. I focused not only on visual aspects but also on technical solutions and functionality of those pages representing film production companies.
Concerning the web design it was challenging to transport the idea to the real website. We needed a high performance an shot loading times for high res video content.
I started participating in Awards last year. It challenge me to make the best out of my ideas and it ist a good way to get feedback from a variety of different opinions and backgounds.
Talking to people about your work is essential.