UK-based studio Believe in recently completed an identity and stationery project for Christophe Szpajdel, aka Lord of the Logos:
The work follows the Gestalten publication of the Lord of the Logos book in 2010, showcasing a selection of the close to 10,000 logos that Christophe has created in his career so far. He has worked for many of the biggest bands within the Black Metal and Death Metal underground music scenes. His work has been featured in numerous galleries, publications and blogs both in Europe and America, notably and most recently at the Walker Arts Centre in Minneapolis.
Christophe has been a long time friend of the Believe in studio, and this project provided a great opportunity to reflect a more playful dimension to Christophe and his work. Believe in’s Managing and Creative Director Blair Thomson lead the collaboration, and explained some of the thinking:
“However dark and intimidating his work can be seen as, Christophe is a great collaborator with a desire to apply his talents as broadly as possible. We wanted to preserve the spirit and the alchemy of his work, but also build a more accessible side to the identity through the applications.”
The core Lord of the Logos logo is Christophe’s own, but now forms the central element in a wider identity, that includes a new ‘stag’s skull’ icon, wordmark and supporting typography. The letterpress print and tactile paper stocks reflect the painstaking attention to detail that goes into Christophe’s work, and the wax seal adds a dramatic flourish to his correspondence.
“What we’ve designed should open up all manner of future collaborations with people who are intrigued by what Christophe does, and who are keen to bring his unique style to bear on their own projects. On top of that, it was a lot of fun.”
Materials Business cards printed letterpress gold on 700gsm Ebony Colorplan by The Print Project, Bradford. Letterheads printed black on 120gsm Curious Metallic Gold Leaf by Kingfisher, Totnes. Wax Seal Stamp from Custom Wax n’ Seals in Birmingham.
