studio bilo is a graphic designer based in Manchester, UK.
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About
02 &Beyond
Concept design for a surrealist museum hosted at the Guardian Telephone Exchange
To communicate the more traditional and heritage side of the brand which has it’s roots in this 1950s building, I laser cut stamps with the identity logos and promotional information which, when overlapped, creates varying opaquenesses which plays with the form and shape of the typography; portraying the surreal theme.
The newsprints, a thin stock, allowed for better saturation of the inks and felt appropriate again for the worn style.
Bright and colourful palette to illustrate the surrealist tone as well as a bold script font which has a vintage feel; reflecting the historic aspect of the Telephone Exchange. The name is emblemic of things being concealed or hidden like the secrecy of the building and the surrealist art I researched which included pieces wrapped in cloth and bound with rope.
I discovered that the only accessible footage of the interior of the location was from a shaky camcorder YouTube video posted by a decommissioned worker. The screenshots I collated show the journey round the tunnels; notably the long winding pipes, stamps and ephemera pasted on the walls and falling out of lockers, the criss cross metal of the rickety gate on the lift, and the vintage wayfinding and warning signs posted around the grounds - all of this forming a certain gritty yet visually appealing tone for the brand.
Looking into surrealist sculpure I found that the idea of things being concealed was a frequently used technique whether that was objects being wrapped in cloth, or bound with rope. When considering this in the context of the location, it aligns with the secrecy, due to lack of documentation, I spoke of earlier, and the hidden nature of tunnels.