At its peak: Graphic windows
There was one particular graphic system that kept cropping up again and again across 2023 – the use of frames, or windows, as a graphic device. Across a variety of identities, motifs housing imagery appeared to be a visual device that could be applied to a business of any kind, from a new condom brand to a meal delivery service.
Using abstract or familiar shapes to store visual content is of course a trend that’s been bubbling away for many years, and one It’s Nice That’s own creative team has had a fondness for in the past. Yet its popularity, and its use in a range of scenarios in 2023, has potentially led to its over exposure.
That being said, one apt use of this system came from Porto Rocha last year in its identity system for Sundance Film Festival. Chosen as “a simple yet memorable motif” inspired by classic film strips, nodding to the subject matter of the festival aimed to answer two main objectives of the project. “On the one hand, to create an iconic and long-lasting identity that was easy to implement and could withstand the test of the time,” says Leo Porto and Felipe Rocha from the studio. “On the other hand, to develop a system that was flexible enough to adapt to Sundance’s various communication needs through the year” and be able to flex seamlessly between signage and editorial content. In turn, working with frames in this context serves both “as a sharp modular grid to organise information, as well as an immersive window that transports audiences into unique worlds and stories,” continues the studio.
For the studio, the popularity of this motif links back to its ability to create, or represent, a flexible design system. “Traditionally, branding has been about order and recognition through repetition (the same symbol, colours and patterns over and over again),” Porto Rocha elaborates. “But now, with an ever-growing number of touchpoints and much more frequent communication with audiences, repetition can quickly turn monotonous.”
With this in mind, Leo Porto and Felipe Rocha allude to how frames in a more formal, identity format, “certainly feels overused”. Reiterating how it’s not necessarily a new system – pointing to Droga5’s identity for Coal Drops Yard back in 2018 as a key example – its likely that “these more ornate, expressive frames will probably stay behind,” she adds. Yet, it’s very possible that the flexibility such a system offers will pop up in another context. “Again, brands need to be more adaptive and nimble. If you’re not meaningfully engaging with culture, which is always in flux, you’re going to fall behind. At the end of the day, we are more interested in what’s inside the container than the frame itself.”
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