Apparatus

Iconic content produced by industry professionals

Project Type: Naming & Brand Identity

Designer: Neil Shastri

Tools: Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop

Apparatus is an upcoming branded video production company, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The business will partner with advertising agencies by providing turnkey technical production services for enterprise-level commercial video content. Through Apparatus' vast network of industry professionals from unions such as IATSE and DGA, they will provide iconic content, produced at the highest production value on the market. The brand identity we developed for Apparatus speaks to the confidence and experience of Apparatus' network and the resources they will provide.

When tasked with choosing a name for this business, during our research, we came upon the word: apparatus - offering multiple definitions. First, the technical equipment for a specific purpose, and second, a complex structure within an organization or system. We were immediately drawn to this word once we recognized the duality that it carried and how it correlates with the company's mission.

The name, Apparatus, quickly grew on us because as a word it is familiar enough to most people, yet not frequently used in daily conversations. It is a word that implies intellect and experience. Once we determined that this is a word that we could redefine for the use of the company, we had our name.

The custom-designed logotype for Apparatus needed to be bold and confident, much like the technical professionals that would power Apparatus. The experience that comes with working on film & tv productions is not easily gained, which is why we developed a brand identity that is unapologetic and to the point. Choosing to use a black-and-white color palette also leans into this mindset, while paying homage to the black uniforms that are usually worn by professionals in video productions. The brand identity for Apparatus needs to indicate that there is no added fluff or unnecessary BS here.

We came up with the brand slogan: "It's gonna be great." This phrase can be heard on many video production sets. It speaks to the professionalism in this industry and the confidence that comes with knowing the work will be done right. The creative agencies that Apparatus will partner with will provide the content, while Apparatus will execute from a technical aspect. That relationship requires trust and confidence, and Apparatus will provide just that. It's gonna be great.

It was important that we created a brand identity that resonated with the technical professionals in the film & tv industry and not just the agencies that Apparatus will partner with. The logo needed to be bold enough for brand merch like stickers and hats. The brandmark utilizing the "A" from Apparatus had to be powerful enough to stand alone on small social media profile pictures. The fonts we chose could not distract from the logo but complement it instead. We even made it so that the treatment of background images would have an extra level of noise & grain to subtly pay tribute to the film industry. Every tiny detail of the Apparatus brand identity had to work together to represent the people who will power its operations.

Simply put, the Apparatus logo needed to be cool and the brand had to be confident. That was the driving principle for which we built Apparatus' brand identity - making sure that the brand presence of Apparatus would instill confidence in its agency partners while communicating effectively that the company values and understands the people it employs.

Contact

Atlanta | St. Louis | Minneapolis
neil@neilshastri.design

"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today."

-Robert McKee