October 6, 2017
Brace yourself: the seagulls are coming
The name PortCreative was an obvious choice for us as it represents the city of Portsmouth and what we are.
Our logo is very simple and undertstated, but you may have noticed a pair of seagulls hovering over the type. You may even have noticed that these are made up from typographic curly braces (Bodoni Poster Compressed to be precise).
So what do they represent?
Well, they represent many things, inlcuding where we are and what we do. Here’s a video from the brand pitch to give you a little introduction.
As a multi-disciplined agency we wanted a visual identity that encapsulated what we do without being overly complicated, or that risked dating as we add new services to our offer.
The curly braces* offered a very natural and adaptable motiff. First and foremost they are seagulls – a link to a common sight in this fine waterfront city. But more than that, they can represent:
Typography – sometimes letter shapes (or in this case punctuation) can just be beautiful on their own. Bodoni is a classic typeface which has aged very well. It was chosen for the logo due to it’s ‘wing-like’ nature of the { shape.
Web design – the curly braces are used in many programming and markup languages to delineate instructions and sub routines.
Data sets – in mathematics, they are used to collect data together. A slightly tenuous link perhaps, but we often interpret complex data into useful, clear infographics, making them easier to understand for a non-specialist audience.
Illustration – they go to show how just a simple application to something can give it character, in the same way that sticking some googly eyes on a sock to create a puppet does.
So why is the logo black if you are so creative?
Well, a few reasons:
- Any successful logo must work in black and white without losing meaning or quality.
- We don’t want our own brand to overshadow the work we do for our clients – that’s what you should be looking at really.
- Being a part of the city council we often have to be very sensitive about how colour is used, due to any implied association with, or endorsement of or by, any political parties.
Feedback
We’d love to hear what you think of our brand, drop us a line and let us know.
*also known as French brackets, curly brackets, definite brackets, swirly brackets, birdie brackets, Scottish brackets, squirrelly brackets, gullwings, seagulls, squiggly brackets, twirly brackets, Tuborg brackets, accolades, pointy brackets, third brackets, fancy brackets, M Brace (thank you Wikipedia).