Rebuilding Modernist Atlanta
Challenge:
Modern Atlanta is an organization that hosts an annual week-long showcase of the city’s modern design. The series is filled with speakers, tours and shows. Armchair was asked to create a brand identity for MA that made design feel less esoteric and more widely accessible to the general public. Additionally, MA wanted Armchair to help them bring the latest developments in the Atlanta design community to the rest of the world.
Solution:
MA had the potential to be about more than a local one-week event and Armchair understood that. They saw the organization as the avenue for introducing Atlanta to the world’s modern design and for introducing the world to Atlanta’s thriving design community as well.
They created a logo and brand system that communicated form and architecture. Using three-dimensional boxes to create a pattern reminiscent of a cityscape, Armchair further conveyed a modern sensibility and delivered the marking of a movement that couldn’t be confined to seven days.
Then Armchair took MA’s informational site and turn it into one of content and interest to a global audience year round. The site took a friendly and approachable tone. To enthusiasts, the copy and clean lines felt inspired while still welcoming to those who knew little about design. The content constantly changed and gave users a reason to visit again and again–even when the event was over.
Additionally, Armchair took these principles and transformed what used to be a simple tour guide for the week into a 50-page book about the event, the organization and Atlanta’s design community.
Results:
The blog-based approach, which made it easy for the content of the site to continually change, kept users coming back. While the tools and brand system enabled Modern Atlanta to expand into a national–and ultimately global–voice for modern design. No longer was Modern Atlanta about just a week but instead it was about a movement
