Brand agency The Beautiful Meme and interpretive designers Bright White, both based in York, have collaborated to produce the brand identity for The Battle of Bannockburn, a £9 million National Trust for Scotland project.
Bright White are leading the design of the groundbreaking Bannockburn Visitor Centre and brought The Beautiful Meme into the project to conceptualise and create the attraction’s brand identity.
The identity was launched today (23 July 2012) starting the 700 day countdown towards the 700th anniversary of the battle, when the new state-of-the art visitor attraction will open to the public. The identity has been revealed through a giant version of the logo being stationed on the hill at Stirling Castle.
The new identity reflects the history of the battle, with each letter representing a key element. For example, the symbol used for the B illustrates the tight packs in which the Scots would group together, known as Schiltrons. The men would brandish pikes ready to spear oncoming troops. The identity is designed to work as a whole, but also for each letterform to be used individually across merchandise and marketing.
Tom Sharp, Creative Director of The Beautiful Meme said: “We set out to create a visual identity that was both brutal and playful, full of meaning yet instantly accessible, and fresh without eschewing tradition – all the things the Visitor Centre itself is going to be. Working closely with Bright White, meant our brand work was informed at all times by the stunning interactive experience they are creating.”
In a further collaboration The Beautiful Meme worked with Dalton Maag, the type designers behind the legendary Nokia brand, on a consultancy basis.
Bruno Maag, Managing Director of Dalton Maag said: "Truly good creative work is rarely the result of only one person, and this project proves it. As a typographer, it is my duty to focus on detail and functionality, as well as perfect execution. The Beautiful Meme were able to interpret my comments without changing the creative expression of the logo, and so we created a successful wordmark."
