Dublin Central is a new urban development in Ireland’s Capital city. This new cultural quarter will be a hub of retail and recreation through a dynamic new development. It will incorporate 69 modern apartments and 100 new stores. Despite the country being in the midst of a hard-hitting recession, Dublin Central is the most ambitious redevelopment project in the history of Ireland, with a €1.2 Billion investment and the promise of creating 800 new jobs. All subject to planning permission which is a notoriously difficult process in the city.
I think these shopping plazas, all glass and metal buildings are detracting from the rich heritage of Europe’s greatest cities, but the spiel on the Dublin Central site says “the vision is to create a striking new piece of architecture.” Either way this identity has to be striking, cut a good figure and be rich in character. “Diversity & Integration. Activity & Connectivity. A Central Cultural Hub.” Well, it definitely ticks all the boxes for a design pitch. All the buzzwords are well represented in this new branding from First Impression. But is that enough for a strong visual identity?
“The Dublin Central brand brings together all of the elements that make Dublin Central such a multifaceted and dynamic regeneration/development project. From the existing architectural features to the future vision for the area, we wanted to create a brand mark that was visually innovative yet flexible enough to work across a range of media. We moved away from traditional static logotypes. Instead we set about capturing the vitality of the project. Different shapes, colours and abstractions gravitate towards a central point, creating an explosion of energy. “
— First Impression
With the development being so new (and, well, not even open) the identity has yet to be rolled out but the designers have kindly provided some branding guidelines so you can see how the logo system should work. First Impression says they wanted to move away from a static logotype and went for “an explosion of energy.” I can see this and I love the idea. We have a similar scenario in nature to the London 2012 Olympic branding (sorry to bring it up again!) A branding package for an event/place that has not even been constructed. The logo should be seen in situ to be judged and that context is not available as yet.
The identity package is bold and definitely interesting, risky and optimistic. But so is the development. In many ways, flying in the face of the recession. It begs the question, is “visually flexible and risky” what people want from a huge project in a recession? Actually, I think so. It’s good to let hope have some space in a time of such apathy.
The logo itself seems to be a mishmash of colourful… stuff. The circular ring that is quartered incorporates the Dublin colours in one section with clear references to water throughout (Dublin is a coastal city) and shapes that one assumes tie in with the architecture. The combinations are strange — mixing stripes, circles, angles and white space in an odd blend of vibrant gradients and muted pastels, with a few 1980s throwback colours. The colour-by-numbers guide in the brand manual looks likely to cause headaches. I have brought up colour as a major point in the design because it is so key to the logo, but looking at the guidelines it is clear that the black and white version simply doesn’t work.
I think the logo is visually stimulating but lacks a definite form. As a result, it is not very memorable and unclear what “Dublin Central” is to average person. A great example of creatively responding to marketing keywords, but more of a piece of art than an engaging identity design.
Thanks to Yotam Hadar for the tip.
