Áras

2014

Designed by Alex Synge at Alex Synge

Photographer: Al Higgins

Categories: Identity

Industry: Commercial

Áras is a range of homeware designed and made exclusively for Irish Design Shop in Dublin. Working with skilled designers and makers across Ireland, Irish Design Shop has produced a growing collection of affordable and innovative products for everyday use; these versatile designs are to be celebrated for their function and form because the everyday deserves to be treasured too.

I worked with Clare and Laura to create an identity for the range that would give it a unique and independent voice and bring a sense of coherence to the range of exclusive products. While the brand needed a distinct presence of its own, it was also important that it could let the products themselves take centre-stage. The Áras identity had to retain a neutrality that would allow any labels and packaging to work alongside a hugely varied range of objects in terms of colour, texture, finish and function. In light of this, we used a warm, dark grey as the core colour in the identity which was printed on stickers, labels and card packaging, but also introduced more vibrant seasonal colours in the form of screen-printed tote bags.

The Áras logo mark centres around a simple dotted “+” sign, signifying the collaborative process that is at the heart of the Áras range.