Project Overview
What does the hipster suburb of Northcote have in common with Aradena, a small village on the island of Crete? The answer is not much, but finding common ground between these polar opposites was exactly what we had to establish for this boutique apartment development.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
The project team for Aradena consisted of:
Lars Weisenberger - Creative Director/Copywriter
Cass Mackenzie - Senior Designer
Albert Comper - Photographer
Ant Bray - Account Director
Yanna Koutroulis - Account Manager
Stacy Smith - Production Manager
Project Brief
Going into the client brief for this new, boutique apartment development in Northcote, we already had a loose idea of the type of direction we thought would be required. Create something that has a level of quality befitting of a new home, but make it cool and on trend, capitalising on the independent nature of Melbourne's north.
And true to form, that is the brief we got, however, it came with a curve ball. The development had to be called Aradena, after the small village in Crete where the developer's father was born. This was the first development the client had undertaken and was clearly a big deal. Family was very important to him and he really wanted to create some form of link between it and the building, as it would be a legacy that would live on.
The other factor we needed to take into account was that due to the small size of the development itself, the budget was modest. This was completely understandable, it simply meant thinking much more carefully about where each dollar was best spent.
Project Innovation/Need
They way in which we approached this campaign is probably one of the most innovative we have undertaken. Understanding that our purchasers were most likely to come from the local area, we directed more effort into the items that were going to target these people.
The first thing we addressed was our display suite and signage. We had the great benefit of being a corner site on super busy High Street, meaning that our visibility within the community was going to be significant. To capitalise on this, we wrapped the existing building with signage for maximum impact. Inside the display, we took advantage of the client's connections to the furniture industry and set up a space that was both inviting and informative.
All of this material featured illustrative elements and custom typography that was designed to give the brand a really unique look and feel. One of our designers came up with the concept of creating a custom marbling effect which touched on a design element of the apartments, but also stemmed from the Greek heritage of the name. It was a less traditional approach to signage, but one with major impact.
Design Challenge
As mentioned previously, combining the unique Northcote personality with a touch of Greece, was by far the most challenging aspect of the design process.
The beautiful marbling effect that was created, bridged the gap in a beautifully subtle manner. It also simply looked visually stunning, giving a sense of elegance and movement to all the collateral we produced.The bold red and blue colours that we used against a crisp white background, were very on trend and in keeping with the culture of Melbourne's north, so we really felt we had hit upon a solution that ticked all the boxes.
We also paired this illustration with custom typography to create powerful statements that were sprinkled throughout the campaign, combined with monotone images to create bold, poster-like visuals reminiscent of street art, which is so much a part of the landscape in Northcote.
Effectiveness
The Aradena campaign, in particular the illustration and typography component, proved to be an effective way to sell the excitement of the Northcote lifestyle and the concept of the building. We believe though that the strength of our branding we were able to keep enquiry strong and visitation to the display suite high.
The sales agent on the project, Knight Frank loved the brand that was produced, especially when they took into account the budget and time restraints that we were required to work within.
Graphic Design - Illustration and Type
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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