Awake Studio designs the website to launch Arcanium’s 260 Hybrid Table
Written by David Taylor RGD, Awake Studio
Context
Arcanium is a team of passionate designers, makers and nerds (their words) on a quest to make innovative, beautiful furniture and accessories for the hobbyist in all of us. They make thoughtfully designed, sustainably crafted, long-lasting pieces that allow your passions to complement–not compete with–your space. They approached Awake as they were preparing to launch their debut flagship product: the 260 Hybrid Table, which transforms effortlessly between a sleek dining table and a versatile gaming center.
Methodology
Part of Arcanium’s self-proclaimed “nerd” status includes a strong connection to Dungeon and Dragons gaming. The lengthy nature of a D&D game led to the creation of the debut table, allowing the players to continue to use the dining tabletop without disrupting the play that is stored intact within. As non-gaming-savvy individuals, a lot of time was spent familiarizing ourselves with the gaming world and investigating the competitive set.
Kevin and Ben from the team are very marketing and design-savvy clients, and because of this, the process was very iterative and felt like a true partnership. Through the process of establishing a verbal identity, we landed on the tagline “Design on a different plane,” which so clearly speaks to what Arcanium is establishing in terms of its product designs, as well as referencing the transformative panels of the 260 Hybrid Table.
The core elements of the visual identity were all created with specific strategic intent. The Arcanium symbol, which depicts an abstracted “A,” showcases fluidity intended to convey their products' transformative and versatile attributes. The wordmark was created with an extended typeface to create a parallel with the extendable leaves of the transformative launch table. The lead colour of the brand palette is a modern, eye-catching green, which is intended to telegraph the sustainability mandate of the brand’s vision.
Results
There are already gaming tables on the market that allow for continuous play, created by brands that have tapped into the gaming community. However, these brands leverage visual languages that employ tropes from the gaming world. The intent of Arcanium’s brand identity was to elevate the idea of play and not sink into gaming stereotypes. With this in mind, it was of the utmost importance to create a brand that felt like it could be embraced not only by the gaming community but by design-focused buyers as well. The trick was to straddle a line between not alienating the gaming world but also appealing to a mass market, one that prioritizes design, utility and sustainability.
Over the last year and a half, we worked with Arcanium to create a brand identity that marries their love of mid-century modern (which inspired the aesthetics of the 260 Hybrid Table design) with board games of all kinds. A little bit of 50s, a little shake of 80s nostalgia and a lot of modern impact. All have a colour palette that’s as flexible and impactful as the 260 Hybrid Table.
Credits:
- Mark Ralph: Website design & development
- Mike Tjioe: Photography
David Taylor RGD
Awake Studio
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