Aix Box runs culture and sport programs for young people in Aix-en-Provence, serving children, teenagers, and the parents who sign them up. Designing for one audience alienates the other two: too playful and teenagers walk away; too serious and it stops being for children; too loose and parents stop trusting it. I built a modular identity that carries the energy without the condescension, and lets each program differentiate while the brand stays one thing.
CLIENT ▸ Aix Box, Culture & Sport Services, Aix-en-Provence, France
YEAR ▸ 2014
AREA ▸ Culture & Sport — Youth Programs, Public-facing
AUDIENCE ▸ Child, Teenager, Parent
SCOPE ▸ Brand identity, modular system, print, digital and wayfinding
SCALE ▸ 3 programs, 9 applications
ROLE ▸ Art Director, through Agence Verso, Paris
TEAM ▸ Art Director, freelance (Agence Verso, Paris, France)
PROCESS ▸ Audience and category audit → positioning → modular identity system → print, digital, and signage applications
YEAR ▸ 2014
AREA ▸ Culture & Sport — Youth Programs, Public-facing
AUDIENCE ▸ Child, Teenager, Parent
SCOPE ▸ Brand identity, modular system, print, digital and wayfinding
SCALE ▸ 3 programs, 9 applications
ROLE ▸ Art Director, through Agence Verso, Paris
TEAM ▸ Art Director, freelance (Agence Verso, Paris, France)
PROCESS ▸ Audience and category audit → positioning → modular identity system → print, digital, and signage applications
The Challenge
Three audiences with opposite expectations: children, teenagers, and the parents paying
Youth branding defaults to childish, immediately losing the older half of the audience
Many programs under one roof, each needing to be findable without fragmenting the brand
Three audiences with opposite expectations: children, teenagers, and the parents paying
Youth branding defaults to childish, immediately losing the older half of the audience
Many programs under one roof, each needing to be findable without fragmenting the brand
Strategic Approach
Movement and accessibility as the foundation, rather than playfulness as a style
Clarity across every format, because a parent scanning a timetable is the real test
A modular system, so programs differentiate within the brand instead of escaping it
Movement and accessibility as the foundation, rather than playfulness as a style
Clarity across every format, because a parent scanning a timetable is the real test
A modular system, so programs differentiate within the brand instead of escaping it
Creative Solution
A bold graphic identity built on color, typography, and modular composition
Active and optimistic in tone, without the visual vocabulary of children's products
Use color to differentiate programs, keeping everything else constant
A bold graphic identity built on color, typography, and modular composition
Active and optimistic in tone, without the visual vocabulary of children's products
Use color to differentiate programs, keeping everything else constant
Scope & System
A modular framework spanning print, digital, and signage
Color coding across 3 programs, so each is easy to find and all read as one organization
Wayfinding applications, so the system works on a wall as well as on a page
A modular framework spanning print, digital, and signage
Color coding across 3 programs, so each is easy to find and all read as one organization
Wayfinding applications, so the system works on a wall as well as on a page
Deliverables
+ Logo and identity system
+ Print collateral
+ Digital assets
+ Wayfinding and signage elements
+ Brand guidelines
+ Logo and identity system
+ Print collateral
+ Digital assets
+ Wayfinding and signage elements
+ Brand guidelines
Role & Leadership
Art Director, working through Agence Verso, Paris.
The argument that shaped the work: energy does not have to mean childish. Most youth branding fails because it designs for the youngest person in the room, and the sixteen-year-old notices first.
Art Director, working through Agence Verso, Paris.
The argument that shaped the work: energy does not have to mean childish. Most youth branding fails because it designs for the youngest person in the room, and the sixteen-year-old notices first.
On The Work
A structured system can stay energetic and inclusive while remaining clear, legible, and trustworthy.
With three audiences and one brand, the system is not a constraint on the idea; it is the idea.
A structured system can stay energetic and inclusive while remaining clear, legible, and trustworthy.
With three audiences and one brand, the system is not a constraint on the idea; it is the idea.
The logo was designed as a bold, friendly mark, simple, adaptable, and easily recognizable across youth-focused environments.
Ready to build a brand that connects
with the next generation?
with the next generation?
