Blast tears Croydon School of Art a new identity

Blast was brought in to work on the project in the summer, having worked on other projects for umbrella organisation Croydon College, including rebranding University Centre Croydon last year.

Paul Tunnicliffe, Blast director, says, ‘They wanted to raise the profile of the art school. They’ve got some really interesting alumni and they wanted to make the most of their heritage’.

The tear aims to ‘reflect the School of Art past and present’, and is influenced by people associated with the college including former tutor Op Art artist Bridget Riley and punk-associated designers alumni Malcolm McLaren and Jamie Reid.

The graphic can be used to reveal different colours and imagery depending on its application, creating different layers for use with different courses or aspects of college life.

According to Blast, the tear also ‘suggests the creative process’, creating a brand that can appeal to prospective students while highlighting the college’s history.

Tunnicliffe says, ‘The tear idea means you can show both the past and the present. We wanted it to be honest and have integrity – it had to also reflect what Croydon’s really like.

‘Going forward, the idea is that it’s a flexible vehicle that can reveal images relevant to a particular course, or play around with the colours to express different things’.

The new branding is used across all touchpoints including signage, print collateral, stationery and a new website, where an animated logo showing different backdrops is used.