The Royal Dublin Society Foundation Arts programme centres around three annual awards for Visual Art, Music, and Craft and spans a wide range of communications: open calls, auditions, exhibitions, showcases and performances as well as related initiatives such as workshops and forums.
The challenge was to develop a flexible, engaging identity system that could unify these programme strands while reflecting the RDS’s rich cultural legacy and the contemporary relevance and breadth of its activities.
We began with a research phase that included an audit of past materials and a review of the programme’s goals and audience. From this, we identified three core values of the Arts Office that would guide the design:
— Supporting creative talent
— Celebrating artistic achievement
— Nurturing creative growth
— Supporting creative talent
— Celebrating artistic achievement
— Nurturing creative growth
These values became the conceptual foundation of the identity.
During visual research, we identified a recurring motif: the oval. This form appeared across RDS heritage assets — from architectural details such as Harry Clarke’s stained glass that inspired the RDS Minerva logo, to the shield carried by Athena within that same logo, as well as the silver medals historically awarded by the Society.
This oval motif was reinterpreted to represent the programme’s three values:
The Frame → Support: providing a structure for talent to flourish
The Shield → Nurturing: encouraging creative growth
The Medal → Celebrating: acknowledging achievements
Displaying the oval in motion at various angles became the starting point for the identity and logotype and a flexible visual system was developed with these forms as supporting devices.
In line with the values of the Arts office, communications put the programme participants at the centre of all assets that were produced — celebrating the talent and diversity within each discipline.
The Frame → Support: providing a structure for talent to flourish
The Shield → Nurturing: encouraging creative growth
The Medal → Celebrating: acknowledging achievements
Displaying the oval in motion at various angles became the starting point for the identity and logotype and a flexible visual system was developed with these forms as supporting devices.
In line with the values of the Arts office, communications put the programme participants at the centre of all assets that were produced — celebrating the talent and diversity within each discipline.
Just as Visual Arts and Craft communications feature imagery of participants’ work, the Music Awards use audio excerpts from selected entries to showcase the talent involved. To make the most of this medium, animated ovals and dashes respond to the sound, visually representing the instruments being played. This approach gives the Music Awards a distinctive visual language while remaining consistent with the overall identity system.
A set of typographic and programmatic rules; consistent use of grids and scale; a pared-back suite of graphic devices and distinctive colour palette combine to give a flexible toolbox for promotion of the full range of RDS Arts activities. By reducing certain visual decisions, focus can be put on messaging, impact and innovative ways of bringing variety to communications.
View the 2024 Visual Arts Awards catalogue here.
View the 2024 Visual Arts Awards catalogue here.
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Credits: Stephanie Dooley (Project Management), Rudy De Souza (Design and Animation) and Gonçalo Salgado (Animation).