with flying colours
How do you brand colour?
I'm not sure if it's good and proper to start with a question, however we did find it quite a daunting one when designing the identity for the Colour Technologies division of Johnson Matthey.
A complication was that the division’s products are widely varied and, strictly speaking, never seen by the public. They produce very high spec powders which, at one end of the spectrum, are used to decorate ceramics and at the other end are crucial to the safety of aeroplanes.
And now the science bit.
So how do you pull together a multi use compound— find their commonality of course: different powders are all compounds of atoms.
Using scientific diagrams and microscopic photos we invented a visual language for the division that allows for an individual presence whilst having a relationship with the Johnson Matthey global brand.
The top level identity (shown just up there, the spotty one) is the colour technologies identity. It appears on everything that their produce. However, it breaks down into other levels of the identity, kind of like the way you click through folders on a computer.
Level one (again the spotty one above) is the umbrella covering seven categories in which Colour Technologies operate— Ceramic, Glass (decorative and Flat), Enamels, Precious Metals, Frits and other media— these have seven individual category identities.
Oh, but it doesn't stop there.
Within each of these categories there are numerous individual products that Colour Technologies offer—which when you apply logic— breakdown further to create the level three identities for each product.
So, that's top level identity (the spotty one above for the last time) that is the Daddy and rules all. Then there's the categories of products that they offer (level two) that each have their own marque which contain several products (level three) with their own individual broken down marque.
Ohh, just look at the pictures.
News Flash: The Design Council liked the identity so much that they have written a case study on their site. So, if all my jargon makes no sense what so ever why not have a read at what the cleverer people have written about the Identity. Read it here.
Designed at The Chase.
