Opinion BY Armin

Acumen’s Manifesto as Logo

Established in 2001, Acumen (previously Acumen Fund) is a non-profit organization that “raises charitable donations to invest in companies, leaders, and ideas that are changing the way the world tackles poverty.” Acumen invests in companies with a focus on operations in East Africa, West Africa, India, Pakistan or Latin America in the sectors of agriculture, energy, education, health, housing, or water and, most importantly, that they make a product or deliver a service that addresses a critical need for the poor. Over the weekend, Acumen shortened its name, introduced a new identity designed by London-based johnson banks, and launched a new website by briteweb.

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Opinion BY Armin

Cystic Fibrosis Looking Good

Established in 1964, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust supports “excellence in research and clinical care, as well as providing practical support and advice to people with Cystic Fibrosis and their families,” and is the only UK-wide charity focusing solely on cystic fibrosis (CF). The organization funds research, sets standards of CF care, and provides information and advice to people with CF and their families. But the main challenge with CF remains: explaining what it is and raising awareness. “Cystic fibrosis,” explains the Trust “is chronically misunderstood, kills thousands worldwide and is carried unknowingly in the genes of millions. It’s often invisible to the naked eye yet destroys lives, stopping them short, inflicting hardship and distress on patients, their families and carers. Cystic fibrosis directly affects around 10,000 people in the UK.” Today, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust has launched a new identity-slash-campaign designed by London-based johnson banks.

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Opinion BY Armin

Brighton’s D and F: Anything but Fail

Originally built as the stables and riding house of the Prince of Wales in 1803, the Brighton Dome in Brighton, England — dubbed “city on the edge” — is one of the premier performance venues in the UK, hosting “over 600 events spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy, literature, spoken word, visual arts, film, digital and more.” Brighton Dome consists of three separate spaces: The main Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange, and the Studio Theatre. The Dome and its venues, along with multiple others, and the city of Brighton have been host, since 1967, to the Brighton Festival, a “three week celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus, art and film.” These two entities have been given a new, cohesive identity by London-based johnsonbanks, who explain that the Dome “has always struggled to clearly identify itself, even to the local arts community” and that “each of its constituent parts and multiple venues tended to act independently of each other across 11 months of yearly programming,” while the Festival has undergone an identity redesign each year.

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A B-Side BY Armin

Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative

Launched this month, the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative is “an ambitious five-year collaboration to chart creative activity and contemporary art from around the world,” specifically South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. London-based johnsonbanks created the identity for the initiative, which had a tough challenge: “Our design task was then to create a design system that would accommodate both the world-famous museum brand and its equally famous sponsor, without being able to use any actual art, since the curation process is only just beginning.” See the full result here. A couple of images below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Christian Palino

The Virgin’s New Clothes

Virgin Atlantic have spent the last year and a half working with London’s Circus and johnson banks to reposition and rebrand Richard Branson’s “high quality, value for money” airline. The airline, born in 1984 under Branson’s ever-growing Virgin empire, quickly became profitable (selling a 49% stake to Singapore Airlines in 1999) and has pioneered offerings from new service experiences like flat beds to biofuel usage.

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