North

Visual Identity
North are a ten strong multi-disciplined graphic design consultancy based in London.  Formed in 1995 by Sean Perkins, the mixture of North’s national and international design talents is influential on shaping a diverse range of work that is principally grounded in functionalism. North work across various disciplines and for a broad client base covering both the corporate and cultural sectors. North are best known for the 1997 RAC Corporate Identity which transformed an ailing British institution into a contemporary and relevant organisation and the re-branding of Britain’s biggest TV cable company Telewest. Amongst their current clients are restaurateur Alan Yau (responsible for London noodle bar Busaba), The Barbican Cultural Centre, the British governments Land Registry, Syn Production Co Tokyo and the global media giant Carat.

Approach
North have a distinctly design motivated approach to all projects. Their attitude is contemporary and European, they occupy a niche position within the design landscape in that they are associated with the creative specialist studios such as Farrow, GTF and Tomato but their experience in the corporate sector with large identity projects such as RAC, Telewest and Carat gives them exposure to larger clients looking for design driven identities.

When North set up they were inspired by the ideology of design studios such as Otl Aicher’s, Zintzmeyer & Lux and Wim Crouwel’s Total Design all ofwhom specialised in Corporate Identity. "We believe we are only as good as our worst piece of work and have never promoted or marketed ourselves. We have only ever received projects from referrals and from our reputation. To sustain this you have to create a longevity to the work and the studio and avoid fashion. We cannot afford to sell out or do a duff piece of work."

Ultimately, their collective ambition and vision is to be recognised and respected as the leading corporate identity specialists in London. To be known as the design team that does the most creative solutions for both the large corporates and the smaller cultural institutions. "Most of all we want to design an airline. We know we have to work a lot harder to earn this." North actively resist getting any bigger, "it would be impossible to keep control of the quality, too much a business not enough a creative team. Keeping this balance is an art."