MSLK Featured in New Design Compilation: Magic Branding

We are honored that our identity system for the Figment Art Festival has been included in the new compilation, Magic Branding, by DesignerBooks. The book features the best in integrated branding systems from around the world and would make the perfect addition to any designer’s bookshelf. We’ll certainly be putting it on ours and will return to it frequently for inspiration. To me, the use the word “Magic” in the title is ironic. From the client perspective, the design process certainly may seem to have an element of magic in it. We listen closely to a client’s needs, go back to the studio, wave the magic wand, and presto, out pops a brilliant and intuitive solution! Just kidding… Our design process is anything but magic, always deep rooted in strategy from the beginning. The process goes more like this: We take client needs and translate them into logical design criteria. As various directions are explored, we edit, refine, edit again, get the client involved at specific stages, and then a purposeful solution emerges. In a more general sense, we like to categorize our process as containing four steps: 1. Challenge 2. Strategy 3. Design 4. Success To learn more about our process check out Our Process Video. For Figment, we were asked to create an identity that would capture the creative spirit of their event. The name and participatory nature of the festival made the visual of a thought bubble a natural fit, which would serve as a consistent vessel that could be filled with new content corresponding to each year’s theme. The design solution was extended to promotional materials such as posters, T-shirts, postcards, signage, and a website. The Figment identity has legs, offering endless possibilities for growth, variation and change, but still remains bold and memorable. Perhaps the magic lies in its flexibility. ~Ryan Nussbaum