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Newcastle Helix

Creating a brand idenity, that's shaped by over 500 data points. 

Project
summary

Branding
Art Direction
Advertising
Digital
Social

Agency: Bandstand
Copy: Will Miles, Padraic Walsh
Design: James Clarke
Development: Your Majesty

My role: Concept, art direction & design

Brief
We were asked to help name and brand a new city-center district that specialised in urban, life, and data sciences.

The 24-acre site was to be a mix of residential, commercial, leisure, and teaching buildings - for businesses, families, students, and academics.

Solution
Through in-depth research and workshops, we finally landed on a bold new name; Newcastle Helix.

We continued to develop its ethos and look - central to this was a generative logo powered by real-time data collected from over 500 points across the city - everything from humidity to vehicle speed.

Its design used waves and lines, and its styling was fluid to give the feeling of momentum and collaboration.

The ever-changing graphic was used as ‘super graphics’ used across signage, marketing collateral, and hoarding.

To bring the brand to life, we partnered with Amsterdam-based agency, Your Majesty, to create a digital exhibition tool and a new website to showcase its new ecosystem.

Impact
The brand rollout, spanning signage, events, social media, and digital ads, has driven engagement and awareness. In addition, we developed a comms program to drive awareness of the scheme and attract new residents.

Over three years, we established the Helix brand and developed identities for each building, positioning Newcastle Helix as a global innovation hub.

Newcastle Helix exists to help us all live better lives: Easier, healthier, longer, and smarter.

The generative logo is a visual representation of what is happening on site.

The supergraphics (created by data) became the hero of each touch point, from social to OOH.