Campbell Hay’s identity for The Sans explores the past and present of the modernist office building — The Brand Identity – Home of the Greatest in Graphic & Brand Design

Originally built in 1962 and reimagined for 2022, the refurbished modernist office building The Sans provides a flexible workspace, driven by core values of democracy, accessibility and sustainability. For its flexible identity system, London-based brand consultancy Campbell Hay found inspiration in the heritage, material qualities, and architecture of the high-profile building.

The visual language champions the modernist theme to its limit – perfectly encapsulated in the name, which itself is a reference to the ‘less is more’ aesthetic and sans serif typefaces associated with the mid-century era. However, rather than mimic the minimalist perfectionism of corporate design of that time, Campbell Hay have given modernist features a contemporary twist, drawing upon the narrative of the building as a guideline. A custom grid was created from the structure of the building’s facade, which itself is a perfectly balanced pattern of windows. However, the studio opted for an unconventional use of space as tightly-packed and overflowing text is contrasted with heavy use of white space. 

Scale is played with here too, with a responsive ‘S’ logo mark that stretches to exaggerated proportions, the corners of which hint at the building’s structural form. The bespoke lettering is supported by a contemporary sans serif typeface. Set in Dinamo’s Monument Grotesk, Design Lead Wai Ming Ng explains why it was the right fit for the identity. “We were looking for a sans serif that reflects the modernist nature of the architecture itself and chose Monument Grotesk because of its unrefined and raw aesthetic,” he tells us. “It’s a typeface that’s reinterpreted for contemporary use, something that mirrors the refurbishment of the 1960s building.” Meanwhile the name itself “was a nice extra,” as it conveniently suited the project’s theme. 

Ng also explains that the building’s influence extends into the chosen colour palette. "We wanted a minimal colour palette and chose colours that were directly derived from the materials used in the building’s exterior: brick, concrete, steel and white concrete.”