Branding | mono.studio

The scent of freshness in the midst of the desert, a brief relief from the sand and the dust and the heat, a breath of fresh air, colours coming to bloom. After Rain. /

DIRIYAH CONTEMPORARY ART BIENNALE 2024: AFTER RAIN
/ ART DIRECTION / DESIGN /

For the second edition of the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, based on the edge of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, we were invited to develop the overall identity and accompanying materials, including the logo and identity design, signage, two catalogues, advertising campaigns, an associated website, banners, and a broad range of collaterals.

Featuring over 100 artists from the Gulf Region and beyond, the Biennale was developed in the spirit of dialogue and open-mindedness, with a focus on trying to understand and unravel the geographic, historical, and cultural particularities of the region. It addressed topics such as the meeting of cultures in a time of transition, the exchange of knowledge across regions, traditions, and genres, the interaction between societies and the environment, while putting a strong emphasis on international artists visiting the country and encouraging a practice of sharing knowlegde and time.

The identity attempts to reflect these narratives by a playful interlocking of English and Arabic typography, and bright colour palette reminiscent of a nocturnal society, and compositions that merge an organic fluidity with sharp edges and cuts.

/ Commissioned by / Diriyah Biennale Foundation /
/ Artistic Director / Ute Meta Bauer /
/ Co-Curators / Rose Lejeune, Wejdan Reda, Anca Rujoiu, Ana Salazar Herrera / Adjunct Curator / Rahul Gudipudi /
/ Artists / Hamra Abbas, Jumana Emil Abboud, Sara Abdu, Irene Agrivina, Alia Ahmad, Azra Akšamija,Nabila Al Bassam, Tara Aldughaither & Joe Namy, Rasha Al-Duwaisan, Mohammad AlFaraj, Dhali Al Mamoon, Reem Al Nasser, Daniah Alsaleh, Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, Nazgol Ansarinia, Rasheed Araeen, Siah Armajani, Andrius Arutiunian, Martha Atienza, Tarek Atoui, Dana Awartani, Asma Bahmim, bahraini—danish, Sammy Baloji, Zarina Bhimji, Ursula Biemann, Safeya Binzagr, Rossella Biscotti, Bricklab, Britto Arts Trust, Muhanned Cader, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cercle d’Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise, Rachaporn Choochuey, Tiffany Chung, Ade Darmawan, Priyageetha Dia, Vikram Divecha, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Alexander Eriksson Furunes & Sudar Khadka, Alia Farid, Christine Fenzl, Ângela Ferreira, Simryn Gill, Anne Holtrop, Hiba Ismail, Saodat Ismailova, Joan Jonas, Susanne Kriemann, Liang Shaoji, Armin Linke & Ahmed Mater, Liu Chuang, Mariah Lookman, Nidhi Mahajan & Moad Musbahi, Taus Makhacheva, Robin Meier Wiratunga, The Migrant Ecologies Project, Malgorzata Mirga-Tas, Regina Maria Möller, James Morris, Tania Mouraud, Zarina Muhammad, Dala Nasser, Hind Nasser, Hussein Nassereddine, Filwa Nazer, Nguyên Trinh Thi, NJOKOBOK, Elia Nurvista, Phi Phi Oanh, Lucy + Jorge Orta, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Sopheap Pich, Marjetica Potrc, Lala Rukh, Arin Rungjang, Tomás Saraceno, Citra Sasmita, Seher Shah, Hassan Sharif, Shooshie Sulaiman, syn architects, Tang Da Wu, Paulo Tavares / autonoma, TAYYUN, Sissel Tolaas, Anaïs Tondeur, Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor, Suzann Victor, Munem Wasif, Ines Weizman, Jana Winderen, Yang Fudong, Yeo Siew Hua, Liam Young, Camille Zakharia, Samia Zaru, Feifei Zhou /
/ Scenography / Laura Miotto, Savina Nicolini /
/ Editorial Lead / Laura Schleussner /
/ Design Assistance / João Pedro Costa, Linda Riedl /
/ Arabic Typography / bytwo /
/ Exhibition Photography / Marco Capelletti, Alessandro Brasile /

Its quietly insistent rhythm evokes the steady drizzle of an average London Sunday in our minds: the kind of grey
day that calls for beautifully melancholic consolation or else, active opposition, for instance by showing off a little colour. /

SENZ⁶ / AUTUMN WINTER 2015 / IMAGE CAMPAIGN & LOOKBOOK
/ ART DIRECTION / CONCEPTION / PRODUCTION / TEXT / DESIGN / PHOTOGRAPHY /

Dutch design company senz° have reinvented the umbrella as we know it: redesigning its basic shape along the the laws of aerodynamics and refining countless little details, senz° umbrellas are storm-proof and strikingly handsome.

For its new and fashionable offspin senz⁶, mono.studio revised the brand’s approach to their image campaign and lookbook. We developed a contemporary language for the product images by merging urban landscapes and fashion imagery into dizzying photocollages.

The collection’s theme of ‚Rain Rhythm‘ was reflected in the typography and gracing each umbrella with its own individual soundtrack for rainy afternoons.

/ Commissioned by / senz° /
/ Creative Direction / Yosuke Nishiumi /
/ Styling / Kamilla Richter /

Summer, of course, is steeped in memories – being awoken by the sun on your face in the morning, spellbound by laziness on the beach to the sound of waves crashing, the smell of the sea on your salty skin. /

TSESAY / SPRING SUMMER 2014 / CAMPAIGN
/ ART DIRECTION / CONCEPTION / PRODUCTION / DESIGN / PHOTOGRAPHY /

For the New York womenswear label tsesay, mono.studio has conceived a new visual vocabulary, including their brand book, advertising campaigns, website, and promotional materials such as lookbooks and videos.

As part of our new advertising strategy for tsesay, mono.studio has developed a modular graphic system, juxtaposing fashion imagery against cityscapes of New York, to emphasise the urban essence of the brand while also generating an atmosphere specific to the theme of each collection. All background images were sourced through social media, actively engaging the younger audience of the label while bringing tsesay to street level – which is, after all, where it belongs.

The tsesay Spring/Summer 2014 collection was largely influenced by surf and skate culture, incorporating elements of beachwear and tie-dye techniques. Evoking a sense of lightness and joy, all fashion images were shot in full motion, while the background images unashamedly revel in that summer feeling.

/ Commissioned by / tsesay /
/ Styling / Syria Bellisario /
/ Hair & Makeup / Julie Skok /
/ Model / Michaela / Izaio /
/ Post Production / Uwe Arens /

A space that is your own, to hold you, to return to. Relationships that will carry you, friends you can rely on. Words that will remain, hopes that prove solid. Home is where we grow from. /

TSESAY / AUTUMN WINTER 2013 / CAMPAIGN
/ ART DIRECTION / CONCEPTION / PRODUCTION / DESIGN /

For the tsesay Autumn/Winter 2013 campaign, we introduced our modular design system that juxtaposes fashion imagery with the city. As it is a collection based on the concept of warmth, friendship and traditional values in turbulent times, we produced a warm and intimate fashion series in a private apartment, set against New York winter scenes with dramatic perspectives and graphic urban patterns. All background images were sourced through social media.

/ Commissioned by / tsesay /
/ Photography / David Fischer /
/ Styling / Syria Bellisario /
/ Hair & Makeup / Julie Skok /
/ Model / Dina / Izaio /

Millions of snowflakes, softly swirling from nowhere. Blinking my eyes at the opaque sky: I don’t know where you begin, but I know where you land. /

TSESAY / AUTUMN WINTER 2013 / VIDEO
/ ART DIRECTION / CONCEPTION / TEXT /

With the tsesay Autumn/Winter 2013 season designed around the ideas of warmth and protection, mono.studio complemented the print campaign with a promotional video on a more playful note, conceived as a light-hearted glimpse into New York winter life. Striking a healthy balance between body and soul, between inside and outside, is essential, and maybe even more so during the cold months.

/ Commissioned by / tsesay /
/ Production & Editing / The Screeners /
/ Photography / Kaspar Köpke /
/ Styling / Syria Bellisario /
/ Hair & Makeup / Julie Skok /
/ Model / Ida / M4 /