Atticus Graphic Design

Wolfe Recruitment

Alé Mercado — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:34:28 +0000

Identity, Stationery, Newsletters and Web for this Recruitment Agency specialised in the Health Sector.
All the design is very clean, minimalistic to give the overall brand a very clinical look.

Grogan Ryan and Co. Website

Alé Mercado — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:28:23 +0000

Website for this progressive thinking accountancy firm based in Waterford.
Their approach to web and functionality for clients was quite radical in comparison with what competitors offer.
It was a nice challenge to get a good balance between edginess and corporate feel. The website is automaticaly linked to all the major social networks.

Heritage Directory

Alé Mercado — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:06:42 +0000

Atticus developed the identity for the Kilkenny Heritage Forum in 2009.
The idea driving the concept was based in an analogy between Kilkenny Heritage and the Autumn Crocus: and endangered spices of Kilkenny Natural Heritage that normally grows close to Built Heritage areas and is particular to the area. The colour palette is taken from the actual flower.
When designing the Heritage Directory, the idea was to advance in this concept. So the directory was conceived to be a very practical tool but with the appearance of an old botanical treaty. Old typography, soft colours and use of engravings help to reinforce this idea.
The directory is printed in A5 format to make is as practical as possible and was finished using a half-canadian folding, giving it the durability it needs.

Wedding Invitation

Alé Mercado — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:00:18 +0000

I normally run away from these jobs. One, they are normally quite small; two, there are too many people involved in the decision making (and some of them might show up at the very end of the process) that it is normally very difficult to enjoy them.

But in this case I was given carte-blanche. And I decided to go for an unusual solution: a poster.

The illustration for the poster was fully developed in Illustrator including the handwritten lettering (See it here.) At first I suggested to print it as an A2 size poster but we finally settled in an A3. 170gsm silk paper was used for the posters and then I developed a very simple set of stationery for the “formal” invite and the additional information.
All of these were rolled together into a tube, making it even more special when you received the invite.

It worked really well, I was told there were a few people (not only the couple getting married) who wanted to frame and keep the poster. I love the idea of creating something that people want to keep. I guess that’s what happens when you come across something with an impact and memorable at the same time.

Kathleen

Alé Mercado — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:00:07 +0000

New Ross based folk outfit Barrowside contacted us to design their materials for their new CD. They also wanted to use some of the materials developed for their live show.
All their songs talk about the Irish emigrant. So we proposed an idea: using the CD folder as a piece of sequential art. We divided the songs into four themes: the departure, the voyage, the arrival, life as an emigrant. To wrap everything, the cover tells the story behind the song Kathleen, where a son tells his mother about their life as emigrants and their wish to go back to Ireland.
The comic-book narrative really fits well the CD folder. The images were done using dip pens and Indian ink. Typography was intended to simulate 18th century newsletters and wood-type posters.

KCAT Website

Alé Mercado — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:00:55 +0000

After finishing the KCAT10 Book, Atticus was approached to redesign their website. Their requirements included new CMS, integration of Social Networks, full accessibility…
We opted for a self-hosted wordpress website where we built our skins on to. All the pictures are stored in Flickr where they can also use its social aspect.

You can see the final website here.

Kilkenny Library Services

Alé Mercado — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:22:41 +0000

Atticus was contracted to develop the Library Plan for the next five years. In the process, the Library Service decided to look also at their identity. The client wanted to be able to change library user’s perception about the services they provide. The client was particularly interested in communicating how their services are integrated in the Information Age.

The identity is based in the juxtaposition of two ideas: traditional library and Information Age represented by the @ symbol.
The main idea was to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, therefore design decisions on information structure or colour palette.
Kilkenny colours were used in the main identity to help strengthen the mark as well as making it more relevant to the target audience.

Craft Council of Ireland Courses

Alé Mercado — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:00:01 +0000

Atticus was asked to develop some collateral materials for the Jewelry and Ceramics courses.
Continuing with the idea of transformation as a central theme, these new materials focus in creating a dramatic volume effect.
By using a system of folds and die-cuts, unfolding the brochures create these pop-ups that transforms a 2D media into a 3D experience.

KCAT 10 Book

Alé Mercado — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:31 +0000

KCAT was celebrating their 10th anniversary and wanted to mark the occasion with a book the reflected as much as possible, not only their history, but also their ethos.
The book has over 200 hundred pages. KCAT has an extensive photographic record and we decided to make the most of it. We built a grid system that overflowed the page and tried to fill them up with as many pictures as we could.
The text was carefully arranged to make it as “accessible” as possible.

A DVD was also produced which was inserted at the back of the book.

Craft Council of Ireland Educational Materials

Alé Mercado — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:00:31 +0000

The Craft Council of Ireland (CCoI) required creating attractive materials for young people to engage into Crafts education.
The main idea that served as a design concept was trasnformation: Craft as raw materials transformed to give them a new meaning.
We created a system of inserts for each one of the disciplines. Typography and colour palette is built to resemble the raw materials.
The inserts were contained in a folder that followed on the same theme.
Every material was developed to also fit with the CCoI’s Corporate Guidelines.