Introducing - Robert Klanten

Innovative graphic identities for small, creative companies.
Today, many young people who have studied or trained in creative fields would rather work with their hands or have direct contact with their clients than sit at a desk in a large design office. These creatives are founding their own small companies all over the world--storefronts and other locations with a uniquely individual character that often serve simultaneously as an office, workshop, warehouse, and local meeting point for like-minded people. Whether florists, butchers, or yoga studios, these small businesses need a customized visual identity that can adequately capture and represent their particular dynamic.
Introducing: Visual Identities for Small Businesses is a compilation of intelligent corporate designs for small, creative companies. The book Showcases innovative work that captures the imagination with which their founders pursue and communicate their business concepts. The featured examples reflect the full spectrum of today's most important design trends--from minimalism and classic modernism to styles that range from retro and letter-press-nostalgic to playful and surreal. All of the included work makes clear that intriguing visual concepts do not depend on a large budget. It is a testament to the fact that certain limitations can be beneficial to coming up with original and effectively executed creative ideas.
The selection of projects in Introducing: Visual Identities for Small Businesses is neither limited to a certain branch of business, nor to particular media. The diverse examples include a small run of pastel-colored stationary for a nursery, the hand-set business cards of a typographer, as well as the shop design and chalk-written price list of a small-town pastry shop. What thematically unites the work in the book is the fresh attitude and the personal, proactive approach of the founders on which it is based.