Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Canadian Modern: Room for two lines reserved from the start rather than squeezed in later
- Type
- Set in Canadian Modern's manner (One sans for both languages, the second subordinated by weight), and let Corporate Modernism's lettering (One type family fixed, the name locked as artwork down to its letterspacing) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Canadian Modern's material (Two colors at most, materials chosen for outdoor weathering); bring in exactly one thing from Corporate Modernism (Single color as the default, hues assigned by use rather than by business unit).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
These two are already listed as related, so the join should come easily.
Caution
- Canadian Modern Setting English first and adding French afterwards overflows the lines, breaks the system and makes field improvisation the norm.
- Corporate Modernism A manual with no one checking application lets exceptions pile up in the field and the force of unity goes first.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Canadian Modern (Style, 1960s–1970s) and its accent from Corporate Modernism (Style, 1950s–1970s). Structural cues: Single-stroke geometric marks; Bilingual grids; Unified public-agency style; A restrained palette. Accent cues, used sparingly: Abstract geometric marks; Standards manuals; Gridded application discipline; Single-color strength. Composition: Room for two lines reserved from the start rather than squeezed in later. Type and lettering: One sans for both languages, the second subordinated by weight. Let one material quality come from the second style: Single color as the default, hues assigned by use rather than by business unit. Mood: Trust, Calm, Futurism, Technology, Luxury. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Canadian Modern 1960s–1970s / Style / Public Design
Canada's public-sector modernism crystallized in the CN mark, Expo 67 and the Federal Identity Program: restrained geometry and bilingual system design as a working example of designing a nation.
- Corporate Modernism 1950s–1970s / Style / Contemporary Branding
The golden age of corporate identity established by Rand, Chermayeff and their peers: geometric marks, gridded standards manuals and disciplined application speaking for corporations in modernism's abstract language.
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