RSA Patrons Scheme Brochure and Invitation
Designed by James Brook for the Royal Scottish Academy, 2018
Brochure | 210 x 148 mm – flat size 210 x 296 mm | 4 pages
Printed by Allander, Edinburgh, on Vision Superior 200gsm
Invitation | 210 x 148 mm | 1 page
Printed by Allander, Edinburgh, on Vision Superior 300gsm
The Royal Scottish Academy asked me to design a brochure to launch a new Patrons scheme. The Patrons scheme is distinct from the RSA Friends, an organisation I have previously designed materials for, in that it is a small exclusive group and will focus on building a relationship with the Academy and artists. The brief was to design materials that reflect this with a high quality look and feel. I designed a Patrons logo that incorporated the RSA shield and that is set in the typeface Europa in various tints of a rich black. The logo is always centred on the page with ‘Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture’ set in uppercase giving a formal feel that is offset by having the word ‘Patron’ set in sentence case – if the logo had been set entirely in uppercase it would have felt too authoritative. The logo exploited the fact that Europa has, I feel, a split personality between its uppercase and lowercase letterforms: the lowercase letters have more warmth and character and a slight quirkiness that is not so apparent in the uppercase letters. All other information in the brochure is ranged left with a ragged right, creating a tension with the logo and grounded by the placing of images within a strict grid. The RSA supplied a selection of images that, over a period of time, were edited, re-ordered and refined in collaboration with the RSA, to reflect the aspirations of the scheme. As well as the brochure, I also designed a membership card, a donors’ wall for the gallery, and an invitation to a dinner that launched the scheme.
