Demanding attitude to create values

Culture

The creative agency David+Martin makes it plain on its website: ‘Working with us requires courage. The courage to do something different.’ That is exactly what we showed. For the new image, we developed a modular system with design elements and colours that match the expectations of David+Martin: expressive, boundary pushing, loud.

The development of visual components was experimental and pushed the boundaries of conventional design systems. In the same way that David+Martin refuses to be pigeonholed, our design does not fit into any system. It offers unrestricted opportunities for development. How? With strong colours and expressive elements that provide the basis for never-before-seen layouts to be constructed.

The courageous attitude of the agency can be clearly seen in the house typeface Fuckthehaters, designed by Fabian Maier-Bode and André van Rueth. At first glance, the capital letters are reminiscent of the lettering and tattoos of a rock band. That was no accident: this typeface breaks barriers and, at the same time, creates a strong identity. We decided on black and white for the primary colours to provide orientation. The bright secondary colours can be used on a scale from loud to quiet to suit the subject and sender.

‘When we got to know David+Martin, we immediately sensed their passion and their need to be unconventional in every way. But above all, we sensed how much they enjoy what they do. Creating clarity without losing the joy of experimentation was an exciting challenge for us’ says designer Daniela Vogel, looking back on the cooperation with an agency that ‘listens carefully, but sometimes does the opposite of what is expected.’ And boom, just like that: they were named Agency of the Year by W&V.