OUGD603 - Grainger Market identity - Market & environment identity research

For research and inspiration I looked into current identities of markets and environments similar. This was helpful research as it made me understand a place identity is something that can only be interpreted by the people who are woven to that certain location/environment. And that a brand is a feeling that a product, service, or a destination triggers when a person remembers it, so I feel history is the best solution for a future brand for the market.

El Born CCM — Exhibition ‘Born. Memòries d’un mercat’
I came across this identity while in Barcelona over the summer and it made me consider how an old relic can be reimagined. So in many ways this visit influenced my idea to regenerate the Grainger Markets identity. The identity itself is an exhibition on Born CCM's past, once one of Barcelona’s most important markets and 45 years after it’s closure, this exhibition aims to reactivate its collective memory. The studio responsible for the design is Forma & Co, who are a Barcelona based studio who illustrated market boxes by twisting the most recognisable elements from the center’s visual identity, strata and typography.

Camden Market rebrand
Only last year a new brand identity for London’s Camden Market, including two custom typefaces inspired by the area’s iconic bridge sign by John Bulley was released. The overarching concept of the rebrand is “unfollow convention”, which aims to connect with Camden’s long-time reputation for creativity and subculture, and the identity is designed to be adapted by the market’s eclectic population. Once again in this rebrand, the studio responsible has looked to the markets already existing visuals and history to determine the new identity, which is able to express the brand in multiple ways while still aligning with the Market’s long history of new ideas.

City Point
City Point is the largest food, shopping and entertainment destination in the center of Downtown Brooklyn and Pentagram dramatically transformed the area by focusing on a proud and loud slogan “BKLYN BORN” celebrating the project’s significant local engagement in a borough that prides itself in deep rooted authenticity. Although this project differentiates to the others because its a new initiative, it still vibrantly represents the environment by looking to the community within to give it a voice.