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Discover
Inspiring children to read for decades, Alex Brychta MBE – illustrator extraordinaire and creator of the brilliant Biff, Chip & Kipper characters – needed a new brand and website.
When the opportunity comes knocking to develop and deliver an identity and build a website for someone who has inspired so many, it’s safe to say a wave of giddy joy sweeps its way through the studio. Like primary school kids in a classroom, there’s nothing quite like the electric excitement that comes from playing, learning, discovering and developing. And with someone as bold and playful as Alex to work with, this was going to be a particularly fun one.
An acclaimed artist, whose characters have captured the imagination of many a mini-person, creating a visual identity and digital presence for Alex required a deep dive into his back catalogue. And like the latest Biff, Chip, and Kipper book, we couldn’t wait to get started.
With pages upon pages and illustrations upon illustrations to explore, the Troop had inspiration on tap. An effervescent flow of fizzy fun was just behind the next bamboo bush and with the Silverback® Creative on standby to guzzle like a thirsty gorilla – we were ready for action.
Design
Alex’s bold, colourful and playful illustrations were a natural starting point for developing ideas around palettes, textures and brand essence. Inspired by the hand-drawn nature of Alex’s work, opting for an analogue aesthetic felt appropriate, while using Alex’s handwriting for the primary logo felt like a natural choice. As a secondary logo, we used a hand-drawn pair of Alex’s trademark spectacles – a simple, playful, yet highly effective tool for instant brand recognition. Easily applicable to any setting, the spectacles serve as a fun device that can be used throughout brand communications.
When it comes to colours, the dominant use of sky blue is symbolic of the childlike dreamscape and boundless imagination that come from reading stories when we’re children. The opposing use of dark green is grounding and representative of the growth that comes through learning. The bold use of primary colours used to signpost menu features within the website holds attention while underlining fun as a fundamental subject matter.
‘Fun’ is found throughout the website. Featuring loading animations, large text boxes and big illustrations, the UX is bold, imaginative and engaging. Bouncing interactions bring energy and the secondary logo of Alex’s signature spectacles is used as a hidden Easter Egg around the site for users to find and have fun with – can you find them?.
From colour-changing font scrolls to smooth-moving horizontal text blocks, this is a website made to be discovered.
Develop
Websites can be great. But they can also be lacklustre online placeholders that don’t really tell us anything about the brand or business that we’re trying to engage with. Alex’s website is a celebration of an illustrious career. Confident with the branding side of things, while the website’s content was giving users all the good info about his books and background into his life, we wanted to provide a takeaway that would be fun while also working as a reminder for the brand ‘Alex Brychta’.
Giving users a reason to return, we created a series of downloadable Alex Brychta doodles that kids (and adults) can have fun colouring in.
Deliver
Stories and pictures have the power to transform the way we look at the world and, in the best cases, they help us learn and grow. It’s the same when it comes to brands – the best brands change perceptions and inspire change.
Celebrating over 50 years inspiring kids of yesterday, today and tomorrow, the Troop are quite frankly titillated to deliver a beautiful brand identity and website for the illustrator, Alex Brychta. Additionally, the Silverback® Troop designed a range of digital assets and icons to be used on marketing assets – ensuring the brand maintains consistency across its channels.
It was an honour to work with Alex and to help him to tell his story – one of playfulness, colour, creativity and collaboration.
