Left Over GREY MATTER

Exciting things are happening in Whiteabbey Village in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. As part of a partnership between the EU and Newtownabbey Borough Council, we were asked to design a brand identity for Whiteabbey Village. Part of the brief was to make the village more attractive to tourists, businesses and residents. Recent surveys and research showed that Whiteabbey was in danger of becoming a commuter bypassed village. Yet anyone who know the area would find this surprising as there are many businesses, services and leisure facilities available.

With the whole project we have been working with the idea that people currently travel in a straight line from Carrickfergus to Belfast and in reverse each day, but the challenge is to encourage these commuters to turn off at Whiteabbey Village. However following various focus groups and meetings we have discovered there is much more to Whiteabbey than simply shopping and recreation offered in the village area. Therefore this concept began with looking at a combination of the historical aspects of Whiteabbey, and as an area of growing commercial attractions in a modern Village.

Starting with the stain glass window in Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church, we began developing a formal logo that would represent the established history and yet fit with the new growing area. Thus we developed the W and V into a symbol, although it began as a reflection of the Church Window, it developed into a symbol of growth and natural developments sprouting from within the village area.

Recently there is a popular trend of searching the likes of Google Maps for directions, and we took this idea of searching for Whiteabbey Village, and marking a line between the two points from start to final destination. This line you create takes you away from a straight line, and gives a shape to your movement. So taking your line of movement and allowing the idea to evolve we developed line drawing illustrations for the various elements on offer, such as food, drink, dry-cleaning, hair salons and coffee shops to name but a few. The concept will develop over time to create an illustration on each banner of the various services available and with the tag line, “Find your place in Whiteabbey.

With the choice of colour it was important to reflect the rich quality of the area and also demonstrate the growing aspirations of various businesses and residents. Whiteabbey Village is quite a trendy and affluent area and we feel these contemporary colours capture these elements, and be open to experimentation and combinations.

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