A bold identity to help a new generation map out their future

Beyond helped to found Flipside in 2018 with the aim of addressing some of the major diversity problems in our industry. In a nutshell it’s a project that aims to encourage young people from the East London boroughs of Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Tower Hamlets to gain a foothold in our industry. Over the course of 12 weeks - and working with some of London’s best design agencies - ten Flipsiders learn core aspects of the digital design process, helping them to pick up new skills that will help them find long term work in our industry.  

We’re really proud that we’re helping a new generation of talent from previously overlooked geographical locations and socio-economic backgrounds to gain new opportunities to work within our industry. It’s a special initiative for those of us who work at Beyond. The 2021 Flipside programme felt more special than ever. Back after a brief pause during the worst of the Covid pandemic, it was vitally important that this year’s programme was the best yet.

To help with this, we took on the task of refreshing the Flipside brand identity.

So where did we start?

As with any project of this kind, we started by carefully considering our audience. We wanted to talk directly to the young people who take part in Flipside. We wanted to create something that made them feel they belong. The identity had to be inspiring, fresh and up to date. We wanted the Flipsiders to feel that the identity represented them.

Beyond this though, we also knew we had to talk to our industry as a whole. And so we looked at the design landscape to find inspiration from initiatives like D&AD that would talk directly to key figures within our own industry. No pressure right?

Our core idea

Next we sought a core idea to act as a base or guiding star and to set the scene for all the work that was to follow.

After many rounds of exploration, a motif that we consistently returned to was the map of East London - incorporating the four boroughs, where young talent at the heart of the Flipside come from. With this in mind we arrived at our core idea - “Map out your future” - a strapline that introduces the notion that Flipside helps young people to navigate their way through what can be a confusing landscape.

Alongside the strapline we created an abstract map motif, rooting the project in East London but also allowing us the room to play with the shapes of each borough in a dynamic style that can translate into bold brand material.

Indeed, the non uniform nature of the map shapes allowed us the space to explore the themes of diversity and authenticity - core concepts at the very heart of Flipside.

The marque

These ideas went on to inform our word marque. The Stonewall 50 typeface that we settled on is certainly bold, fresh and eye catching. But it also serves other purposes. The typeface was created to commemorate one of the most pivotal moments in the fight for LGBTQI+ rights: the 1969 Stonewall uprising. One of the core ideas behind the font is that it celebrates personal expression and individuality - again important concepts for Flipside.

Each letter comes with varying lengths, so as a font it’s definitely unconventional. We embraced this - and indeed pushed it a little further. We further extended the “F” and the “E”, added a nook on the top right hand corner of the “S” (to point to the east) and made the font even more expressive.

And finally, to reinforce our core idea we stipulated that the new Flipside logo should always appear positioned to the right of any layout across all collateral - another nod to the programme’s East London heritage.

Execution

When it came to executing the brand, tone of voice guidelines were obviously important. This is a brand with positivity, professionalism, friendliness and relevance at its core. These then were our driving principles when it came to communicating through copy.

For colours we were again inspired by the geography. Flipside is a vibrant brand that happily stands out from the crowd. This energy floods the design through a distinct colour set inspired by East London’s transport, architecture and the river Thames.

With all of this in place, we knew that combining all of this expressiveness - unique typeface, map motif and vibrant colours - could have been an overwhelming mix. The trick was to find a balance that works, reflecting the seriousness of Flipside with its creative core.

We feel that we’ve managed to craft an energetic and authentic outcome that translates across every touchpoint of the Flipside brand. The dynamic visual language celebrates a melting pot of culture, people and creativity, which is all rooted in the East End and spills out into Greater London 
and beyond. A true reflection of what the Flipside initiative is all about. We’re proud to have had the opportunity to create a strong brand for Flipside and help the programme stand out from the crowd.

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