Unreal

Independent creative agency Unreal has unveiled a new look following seventeen years in the industry. The rebrand, visualised through a striking new flying pig marque and bold orange colour palette aims to reinforce the company’s approach to producing unreal creative with real results.

Making a mark

The agency has a strong heritage in branding, advertising, print and digital and at the heart of each and every project lies a creative idea. We wanted our new look to focus on this from the very outset. We began by exploring mythical ‘unreal’ creatures to form part of the updated identity for the agency.

From unicorns to mermaids, the one that stood out the most was the flying pig. It symbolises the very essence of what it means to be Unreal, pushing our creativity as far as possible and delivering results for our clients that are beyond expectations. It emphasises that even the simplest of ideas can take flight and go the distance.

Similarly, we try not to take ourselves too seriously and are always keen to inject some fun into the creative process. The Unreal team is a diverse mix of talented, happy people – no big egos, no stereotypical designers. The flying pig is a nice metaphor for this.

Logo evolution: The pig quickly evolved into its final form.

Our initial pig development was too symbolic and graphic, looking rather more like a dog than a pig in retrospect. It needed more ‘Awwwww’ factor, so we refined it into the more rotund, happy chap seen in the final identity.

Final identity: More rotund and simplified, the final flying pig with the wind in his ears.

Making ideas fly

Alongside the identity, we have introduced a new strapline to position us as an ideas business rather than merely a design and advertising agency. Born out of the pig marque, ‘Making ideas fly since 1995’ aims to highlight a heritage which has scooped the company awards for both creativity and effectiveness.

Strapping chap: The pig and strapline together.

Making an impact

The combination of a new headline font and a striking new orange and grey colour palette helps to ensure the brand is taken seriously. Futura BQ Extra Bold Oblique was selected for its solid values, helping to balance out the wit and playful nature of the pig.

The Futura’s Bright: Futura BQ Extrabold Oblique forms a solid part of the identity system.

Alongside the new font and colours, a range of icons have been created to highlight the unique selling points of the agency, from our heritage to our sponsorship of a Naked Mole Rat. These icons form the foundations of our website and credentials documents.

Icon suite: The suite forms the foundations of credentials documents and the website.

Making a good first impression

With a strong print heritage, we wanted our business cards to make an instant and lasting impression while also trumping those of Paul Allen in American Psycho.

Business cards: 270gsm GF Smith Colorplan Pristine White duplexed to 540gsm, printed with Pantone 425. Foiled in Kurz Luxor 404 and edged in flouro orange.

As with the core brand, we needed to strike a balance between the humour of the pig and a more serious first meeting. This is again achieved through the use of bold typography and a smartly applied colour palette. The cards were expertly printed by Generation Press with foil blocked lettering and flouro orange edging, to ensure they are attention grabbing.

Business card: Printed by Generation Press.

Making a lasting impression

To allow the idea to fully take off we set about updating every piece of communication within the business. Everything from business cards to invoices and from placement letters to our website was completely updated and injected with an element of fun and a playful tone.

New website: A new website featuring recent work is now live at www.unreal-uk.com.