Rich Empire.
Poor Souls.
Client
Empire Café
Date
2014
Location
Glasgow, UK
Services Provided
Sector
Founded at the Briggait in Glasgow by Author Louise Welsh and Architect Jude Barber, the Empire Café acted as an events-hub over the course of the 2014 Commenwealth Games.
It marked Glasgow’s role as the host of the 2014 Games, with a series of cultural events exploring the City’s links to the North Atlantic slave trade – an often overlooked Commonwealth legacy – through debate, visual art, literature, food and drink.
Identity
The identity was based on a bracket symbol, reflecting the marginalisation of the subject matter, whilst evoking the lines of merchant clippers.
Exhibition
The Café acted as an events-hub over the course of the Games, exploring an often overlooked Commonwealth legacy through debate, visual art, literature, food and drink.
The brand was applied to the physical space in the form of signage and display, as well as objects within the space itself such as furniture, and crockery.
Collateral
The brand was rolled-out across invitations, prints, signage and a specially commissioned poetry anthology — maintaining an online presence with a bespoke event listing website.
These elements combined to enhance the Empire Café’s recognition and convey its vision to a wide range of visitors.
“
Graphical House was a key part of the Empire Café. The quality and impact of their design for our project exceeded our expectations. They took time to tease out what we wanted with professionalism, good humour and enthusiasm. I would work with them again in a heartbeat.
Louise Welsh
Author and co-founder Empire Café
