Corporate Identity: Architect Bureau Wowhaus AdWorm
Task
– Get a strong identity, which reflects the bureau’s values and professional philosophy – Attach individuality to presentation and working materials shared with external audiences. Challenge: architectural albums and project documentation from different bureaus often look the same – standard drawings, plans, visualizations, schemes and sheets – Ensure flexibility, convenience and effectiveness of the corporate style in different applications – mapping, infographics, making up bulky editions, etc
Ideas and solutions
In the last 10 years, Moscow-based architects from Wowhaus set a trend for public spaces, transformed the architectural scene and promoted a new urban culture. Time came for the bureau to change too – upgrade their corporate style and reinvent their visual positioning. AdWorm offered to help with that. Wowhaus’ method is centered around identification of social, economical, cultural, historical, landscape and city-planning challenges, associated with the area in question. “Manifestation” of these challenges is the core of Wowhaus brand. An architect’s job is not to avoid them, avoid controversy, but to embrace and sharpen it. This determines the character of the new visual identity – austere, unsettling, almost monochrome, sharp and intense. The new style is not only utilitarian, but also has a decorative element to it. A photographic metaphor of “development” (manifestation) added knockout to the corporate visual identity. Selected techniques – collage and toning of imagery. Despite its austere character, the new style proved itself very flexible and adaptable. Fanzines, posters, playing cards and New Year merchandise are among the products inspired by identity guidelines. Apparent simplicity conceals a complex and intricate visual system. Product development, testing and integration took almost a year of intensive collaborative effort between the customer and the contractor.
