The beauty behind our brand: a conversation with Studio Matthews
If you’ve visited our new Hub for Hope or stopped by our website lately, it’s impossible to miss our colorful new brand. We sat down with two members of the project team at Studio Matthews – Kristine Matthews and Marta Bernstein – to learn more about the process of creating the new Ballard Food Bank brand and how it was intentionally and thoughtfully incorporated into the design of the new space.
How did this branding project with Ballard Food Bank get started?
We first got to know Ballard Food Bank when we designed materials for their successful capital campaign. This is where we really got to understand their mission and vision and relationship with the community. The need for a rebrand became apparent during this time.
One big element of the brand that changed was the logo. What is the meaning behind the new logo?
The approach with the logo was to shift from something very literal – people holding a basket of food – to something a bit more abstract that would work well with Ballard Food Bank’s new home but also their vision that goes beyond food. This led to the creation of a big family of illustrations – including the new hub logo – that symbolize all the different things Ballard Food Bank does, making the brand more flexible and useful.
Studio Matthews works not only in the print and digital worlds of design, but also in the physical world. Could you talk about how you do that?
When working in an architectural space, we’re trying to respond to what the architects are creating. In Ballard Food Bank’s new home, Graham Baba created a friendly and highly functional space that is full of light and color, so we responded by embracing the same material palette and even using the architectural material itself. For example, Graham Baba used corrugated metal on the outside of the building. Rather than create a fussy, dimensional, overly fancy sign, we embraced the corrugated wall and applied the sign directly onto the material. There is also a lot of natural plywood, so we printed directly onto wood. What we don’t want is it to feel like we came in very last minute and stuck things onto the architecture – the design needed to be a seamless part of the experience. Graham Baba are great collaborators because they involved us early on, which gave us the opportunity to fully integrate our ideas with theirs.
Can you describe some of the ways that the design was interwoven into the new building?
One place where the brand elements are prominently incorporated are the illustrations around the top of the market space. These are large and colorful illustrations of items people can get at the Food Bank, like oranges, bananas, carrots, and even household items like soap. There were a lot of conversations about what we might display in that spot, but in the end, the illustrations really suited it and make the space feel friendly and inviting.
Another integrated design was the donor wall. We had the idea for creating a wall of buttons early in the planning process. The idea here was to have a production method that was low cost, easy to update, and that suited the brand with color and illustration. There is also something nice and equitable in the fact that the donor buttons are all the same size. Ballard Food Bank has such a good, positive spirit, and we tried to weave that throughout the building and have it feel less formal.
You also see design elements on the clipboard wall – a plywood wall with graphics and simple clips where the staff can post fliers about upcoming events or important information for clients. Those things usually end up on a pin board that gets cluttered, so we created a system that goes along with the branding materials and allows the Food Bank to display information. It’s organized but flexible and looks friendly and encouraging.
How does the brand promote dignity at the Hub for Hope?
As designers, we want to create a beautiful experience that is inviting and friendly. This includes everything from the typefaces that we selected to be legible to readers, to custom illustrations that help describe services to those for whom English is a second language. You don’t have to appreciate design to think, “This feels good, this feels welcoming.” The objective is that anyone can come into this space and want to spend time here – not just get in, get out.
We were trying to create a new home that works well for Ballard Food Bank. It’s a space that flows together – a place that feels warm, that’s easy to navigate, where people are finding what they need. You’re not necessarily thinking about their new brand, you’re just feeling, “Wow, they are doing this really well, and this is a great place to be.”
What was the most rewarding part of this project for the team at Studio Matthews?
Going to the space and seeing how our designs really work well with the architecture – it looks natural and coherent. Also seeing the website and communications materials redesigned with the new brand. That was a nice reward.
We work with a bunch of different organizations of all sizes, and the pleasure of delivering a comprehensive brand and components to an organization like Ballard Food Bank is deeply satisfying. Seeing how this brand can play a part in helping and elevating this worthwhile group that is doing so much for the community feels good.
Also, we love seeing the Ballard Food Bank yard signs around town that we designed – people are proud to display them! It makes us feel like we really got this right, which is always our ultimate goal as designers.
We are eternally grateful for Studio Matthews’ meaningful work on the Ballard Food Bank brand and helping us to breathe beauty and light into the new Hub for Hope. We can’t wait to see what you create next!
Studio Matthews Project Team:
Kristine Matthews, Principal
Marta Bernstein, Project Lead
Meg Graham, Project Manager
Eli Kahn, Designer
