Not sure if this is a step forward or backwards when a designer’s media of choice is a roll of electrical tape. Landing somewhere in the realm between a brutal application of graffiti and a finely finessed monoline design, these logos have embraced a miscreant’s attitude. The kind of art you might expect to see on the side of a service truck whose owner couldn’t afford a vinyl placard. This DIY styling is typically crafted out of common width, straight strips, that fail to negotiate a corner without a hard cut, and cobbled together with little concern for cleaning up junctures. How completely appropriate for the witty Czech Skateboard Association, mashing up the Republic’s two tailed rampant lion with a marauder on a longboard. Mis-registered corners and unbending structure give a mischievous feel to this group of marks that make them completely approachable and remove any doubt that anyone is taking themselves too seriously. Flexibility of this style allows it to morph from image to typography but it becomes most evident in the absence of curves. This naive quality is going to have a pretty finite market but when there’s a need to completely remove any pretentious mantel, guaranteed, this is the express.
DESIGN AGENCY: FRANK ATELIER | CLIENT: CZECH SKATEBOARDING ASSOCIATION
