Grizedale Arts is an international research and development agency based in the Lake District National Park. Over the last five years it has acquired a significant reputation for pioneering and experimental approaches to artistic production and exhibition.

We worked with Grizedale to develop branding that uniquely represents their practise and methods. As an entity that operates without exhibition space or artist studios, the organisation is a facilitator and co-conspirator in a diverse range of projects that challenge peoples perception of the role of contemporary art. Referencing the fact that their HQ (Lawson Park) is ‘land-locked’ by powerful and historic institutions – The National Trust, the Forestry Commission and the the John Ruskin estate – we created an identity that referred to them, within this and the wider context, as an pseudo ‘independent principality’ or ‘anarchist state’.

The central graphic device signifies the fact that the character of the organisation is both uniquely British and fiercely independent. The design in heraldic terms is an inversion of ‘party per bend sinister’, the blank shield represents the open-ended, collaborative approach that defines much of their output. A bespoke typeface was also developed that represented the required balance of character, Englishness and clarity. More applications of this project will be added soon.

See also: Agrifashionista