This post kicks off the new series where I search for graphic design studios or independent designers and highlight my top 5, diving deeper into each to find what makes them unique from their competition.
The first edition of this series focuses on design studios specifically in Mexico. Mexico is growing quick in the graphic design industry, with fantastic studios and designers popping up to spread their unique talents and styles. This top 5 is in no particular order, as each studio has an extraordinary amount of talent that can't be ranked against each other!
Starting with studio Anagrama, based in Mexico City. This studio has grown to involve graphic designers all over the world, allowing the studio to create "outstanding design projects".
The use of typography is what caught my attention the most. Each project showcases a one of a kind visual identity that communicates the brand's personality and message to the viewer. The designers behind Anagrama make every brand so distinctive without over-complicating the design.
My personal favourite project displayed on their website is the branding for the company Alongside, a coffee brand based in Abu Dhabi. By stylizing the 'gsi' in the typography, Anagrama have made a simple font extremely specific for the client and developed a brand that is instantly recognisable to customers.
The second design studio that inspires me is Cocoa Brands. This studio (founded in Guadalajara) has a classy and elegant style that is present throughout all of their work, using natural colours and experimenting with textures. Looking at their Instagram page is an aesthetic dream as all of their posts match each other, creating a consistent style throughout. This gives the public a clear understanding of the type of projects that Cocoa works on, as well as their strengths within the industry.
A great example of this is the campaign image for Severo Tequila. This image displays the use of colours and textures that are present throughout the posts on Cocoa's Instagram page. These colours are very rich and create a high-end and sophisticated feeling when viewing the pictures/projects.
The design itself is quite simple in regards to the shape of the bottle, but this simplicity allows for the label and logo to stand out more and gives the spotlight to the rich colours in both the tequila itself and the label around the bottle.
The next studio that I would like to highlight is Futura, another Mexico City based company. This studio excels in creating very quirky and eccentric visuals that stop you in your tracks. The photography and display of each project is extremely powerful and stays in the viewers head long after viewing each image.
One of my favourite projects from Futura is their branding for the company Raw, a sushi bar located in Kuwait. The restaurant is based around traditional Japanese cuisine which has inspired the design of the brand. The bold contrast of black and white mixed with the use of heavy brushstrokes within some of the deliverables allow for a very impactful design that cuts through its surroundings. This brand also uses a mix of Arabic and Japanese lettering which brings another level of creativity to the design, ensuring that the brand is one of a kind.
Mamba is another studio that has found their niche in the market by creating very contemporary, striking branding with rich colours and bold imagery. The colours used are often very bright and create a vivid end result. The use of colour and imagery shows a great deal of confidence in the design's details and allows the branding to shine on its own.
This specific project is for the brand Tentenela, a gourmet coffee company that want to celebrate their Mexican culture through their deliverables. Mamba have excelled in delivering this as they have chosen to use the imagery of Alebrije - traditional Mexican folklore creatures that take the form of animals. Along with this, vibrant, intense colours that are common within Mexican history have been selected to compliment the story behind this company.
Last but certainly not least, we have Cherry Bomb, a colourful studio based in Mexico City. This studio focusses on creating cartoon-like designs for brands that want bright, playful graphics for their branding. By using these lively designs Cherry Bomb appeals to a younger audience who are looking for a lighthearted style.
The project that caught my eye the most was the branding for Pop Seoul, an online Mexican store that specialises in bringing K-pop to Latin America. The design of this brand is exciting and fun as they use contemporary colours with bold graphics. The cute aesthetic does a great job in catching the eye of the target market and mirroring the vibe that K-pop itself creates.
After searching for the studios that I wanted to include within this list, I must say that cutting it down to only 5 was very tricky! But all of these studios offer very specific skills that are extremely important within the industry and make these studios memorable for the amazing work that they do. There is a great art to be able to find your niche within the market and to master what makes you shine, but these graphic design companies have done just that!
I highly suggest that you take some time to explore each studio's websites/social media and dive deeper into their portfolios, I couldn't possibly cover all of their stunning creations within this blog post!
Explore the aforementioned studios here:
Anagrama - https://www.anagrama.com/
Cocoa Brands - https://www.instagram.com/cocoabrands/
Futura - http://byfutura.com/en/
Mamba - https://mamba.studio/
Cherry Bomb - https://cherrybomb.com.mx/
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