SB Studio's playful identity to accompany Assemble's Brutalist Playground

Date
22 July 2015

Remember The Brutalist Playground, the Assemble and Simon Terrill-created project we were harping on about a few weeks back? Built out of reconstituted foam in the narrow halls of the Royal Institute of British Architecture’s housing archives, it sees the Turner Prize-nominated design collective turn our attention to what editorial assistant Alex calls “these relics of post-war play.”

The identity for the show was created by SB Studio, and it revolves around a playful typeface built out of suitably Brutalist-looking playthings. A triangular arch morphs into a Memphis-inspired “A,” while the “Y” and “L” are reminiscent of a building block and a Tetris piece respectively. It’s a simple concept, but executed with the slick finish and playful touches that SB has applied – scattering the letters haphazardly across posters, signage and billboards – and juxtaposed with the marbled turquoise and pale pink of the installation itself, it’s a neat and appealing system.

Even better, the studio also developed a zine-format supplement to accompany and contextualise the exhibition, grounding the fairly tricky concept behind the piece within the practices of both Assemble and Simon Terrill. Here the identity takes on a life of its own, sitting across from photographs of authentic Brutalist architecture printed in pinks and greens, and seeing the letters masquerade as straight-up illustrations of toys. 

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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SB Studio: The Brutalist Playground

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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