Background —
Having seen the work I did for Toolroom and Ministry of Sound, Sean, the founder of Future Disco, got in touch to see if I could help them with a similar challenge. They are also a contemporary music recordings and events brand who’d had a successful 10 years putting out cutting-edge products, but felt their overall identity had become tired and was holding them back.
Project —
They had a logo, which they’d fallen out of love with, and had produced some striking designs in the past which they were constantly trying to emulate which left them looking backwards rather than forwards.
To get them out of this rut, I wanted to find out what made their previous successes so powerful on a deeper, less superficial level. So, instead of trying to copy the look of their old designs, they could, instead, use its character and attitude as a basis to grow from.
I talked to staff and consumers and discovered that their creative had been too heavily weighted in the retro visual connotations of the word “Disco” to the detriment of the more progressive “Future” half of their name. This simple piece of insight meant that their visual style could be freed from the shackles of disco clichés and be made simpler and more modern.
I felt that a better way to communicate the disco aspect was by imbuing the creative with a new take on the weirdness, androgyny and sexuality that ran through that genre’s veins.
We worked with the brilliant artist Em Cole to create a series of hyper-stylised images for use on the album releases that deliberately sought to subvert the clichés of commercial dance music.
The graphic identity of the rebrand was based on a simple mix of colour, bold typography and squares - a nod both to 12” record sleeves and the coloured dancefloors synonymous with Disco.
This look was also applied to the singles and event promotion, but crucially, it gave the brand’s social media channels a distinctive look and plenty of scope for consistent content.
Simon quickly got to the core of the problem we faced, understood it, and gave us a clear idea of direction.
The result has been a credible and distinctive identity for the future that has brought focus to the business and brand, generated renewed interest in us and produced instant commercial results.
The end result has totally refreshed the brand - attracting new customers and leading to heightened commercial success.
