Our visit to Studio FM was hands-down the highlight of the week. As we approached the loft studio in it’s hip Chinatown neighborhood, I wondered how this graphic design studio would compare with others studios I have visited. This past semester, I had the opportunity to travel to New York and Chicago on a travel initiative grant to visit design studios all over the two cities. Many of them gave a brief tour of the studio, an explanation of their mission statement, and a glimpse at their company portfolio. I found that the FM tour was very similar. The variety of clients that they have is what struck me though.
The first project they showed us was the branding for the Mudec Museum of Cultures. The designer who spoke to us was very animated and honest and explained to us that it was a challenge to make this “boring” museum seem “cool”. As Longhorns, we found it interesting that their main branding concept had to do with horns because horns represent ancient culture in many ways. Their solution was to put “horns” on an M and manipulate that logo to fit with their many advertising campaigns.
Perhaps the most impressive project that they showed us was the branding for the New Doha International Airport. They explained that this project has been a long and drawn out one, but also one filled with much creativity and budget leeway. They started simple with the creation of the logo. They very cleverly decided to take the shape of the airport and then make a grid out of it through tessellation. Everything in the entire airport fit within this grid, which blew my mind. Not only did FM design the logo for the airport, but also the wayfinding and lounge interiors. This was an involved process that required lots of tests and lots of money.
A fun project that we ended with was their branding for the Gli Amici Di Pooh (Friends of Pooh) elementary school. This childish and playful branding juxtaposed with the previous stylish, sleek, and upscale branding of the airport. They came up with ways to engage the children through their branding with animal stamps that can be mixed and matched based on color and shape. As a designer, this kind of interaction seems to be what everyone strives for.
