Responses by Nils Leonard, cofounder, Uncommon
Background: The brief was to create the Coventry brand in its year as the UK City of Culture for 2021, a title designation given to a city in the United Kingdom for one year to spotlight both the city’s cultural activity and its international cultural activity. To find not just an aesthetic, but also an idea that could underpin a year of incredible experiences and festivities. An idea that could speak to Coventry’s past and to its potential.
Reasoning: Movement is present in so much of Coventry. From the birth of the motoring and aviation industries to its rich and diverse culture and the spirit that rebuilt the city in a brave new image after the bombings. “Coventry Moves” felt like a historical and emotional truth of the city we could rally around. The aesthetic itself was inspired from the modernism and brutalism of the city itself, with the primary elements being the COV—how the city refers to itself. An iconic new palette of black, white and moving blue and a grid system allowed us to not only create something that could work across all of the areas the project might entail, but also forge something that felt as brave and as a bold as the city itself. Movement also had to be our behavior as much as our idea. We wanted something that could effortlessly engage in any media, digital and analog.
Challenges: City brands and culture briefs are such an opportunity. Rare and widely regarded, they can either be standout or very much trying not to offend. The ones that are done well become true reference points. Time will tell us whether we managed that.
Favorite details: We built Uncommon fantasizing about briefs like this. We have always wanted to play our part in key moments in culture and to create brands and experiences that matter. So, being appointed to this brief was a huge moment of pride for the whole crew. Working closely with the excellent team at COV council, we are most proud of how the city has embraced the brand.
Visual influences: The work of painter Richard Paul Lohse, the Two-Tone movement, artist Yves Klein, early Jaguar motoring manuals and the architecture of the city itself.
Anything new: We are still learning the potential of what we’ve made and the scale of the task at hand. One thing we’ve learnt though is that the idea for any good city brand is never really finished. It needs to work in the hands of anyone who engages with it, from artists to events, and celebrate the partner brands and different entities it collaborates with. Let’s speak in a year?
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