Development progress of Menara Binjai, the 35-storey green building at Jalan Binjai is looking great and positive and now at Level 25. Congrats, KJS!

View some WIP shots below. For more updates, do visit the official website and also on Facebook.

[Show as slideshow]

Escape seems to be the order of the day. Especially for people like us. Deadlines. Traffic jams. Stress and more stress. Well, look no further. Tucked unassumingly off Jalan Riong, Bangsar, Glamor House is a beauty house that offers a unique blend of pampering and beauty services. Owned and developed by Glamor Maison, Glamor House was created to provide an environment of calm and peacefulness where one could escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life, immmerse in therapeutic aromatherapy packages, hand and foot spa treatments. Or sport a new hairstyle. You’ll be spoiled for choice and truly pampered.

Glamor Maison approached us to develop their branding and communications in early Q2 of the year. It kicked off with an interactive meeting where they were plundered with plenty of questions. Something they were not accustomed to, they told us. The owners explained that their previous designer never asked any questions. Reassuring them that this was how we worked, and that understanding the Client and their needs and objectives were essential part of the process, they realised we weren’t kidding. Dead serious. (hah, pun intended). And so began the journey of exploring different approaches and executions of the basic logo. We knew from the start that we wanted something logotype-based – elegant, contemporary, premium.

Some of the explorations.

The final logo after many iterations.

With the logo finally wrapped up, we had quite a task in our hands to get the overall visual identity in place – business cards, letterhead, product flyers, bunting/banners, billboard, signage, menu rate cards, print ad, invites and web (developed by partners Mixsol Sdn Bhd). Principal reason being the soft launch looming. Being the green company that we are, we opted for eco-stock for the name cards. This proved, again, challenging. The final product was acceptable, however, concerns included ink on one of the solid coloured sides rubbing off on the white background of the non-printed face when stacked. Multiple layers of varnishing later helped reduce the bleeding and flakiness, but this, still, was less than ideal. After much deliberation internally and consultation with Client and printer Five Stars Press, we decided to go by way of the conventional art paper, with lamination and special ink.

Up next was photography for the main branding image that would be purposed for the print ad, website, product flyers, billboard/buntings. This took place onsite at Glamor House with our pal and talented photographer Andrew Lee of Art Dynamics. The half day shoot went smoothly although much time was spent in preparation. Many thanks to the Glamor House team for being such sports!

We also went on to set-up their Facebook page as the web was being developed. More exciting things to come from Glamor House, so stay tuned!

Menara Binjai Logo Visuals

When we were called in to develop branding and communications for a green building project by Khor Joo Saik, a Malaysian private investment company, we were ecstatic. Principle reason? We’re passionate about being green and sustainable. We’re always on the look out for green projects whether big or small to be involved in. So this was certainly a huge green opportunity.

Enter Menara Binjai, a 35-storey Grade A corporate office tower, certified Gold by Green Building Index (GBI) of Malaysia and BCA Green Mark of Singapore. Located right smack in the heart of KL, Menara Binjai was initially named CSS Tower – initials for the ambitious man who started the project, the late Dr. Chua Seong Siew. The site which Menara Binjai is built on was the family home of the Chua family since the 1930s. The legacy continues with the current generation of the Chua family, who also own the landmark Coliseum Cinema and Cafe.

Taking on the project meant an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the dynamic Chua family, project manager KJS, award-winning architect Veritas Architects, official leasing agent Jones Lang Wootton, 3D visualization company Primedia (who also developed the sleek website); and our PR partner Jireh Consult.

The starting point, to state the obvious, would be to develop the logo identity then work outwards from there. Clearly inspired by the building design, we explored several executions for the initial logo concepts. Our goal was to find a middle ground between contemporary, corporate and natural, green. It had to represent progress and sustainability. It needed to be professional, appealing, recognizable.

We were very close, even in our preliminary round of presentations. However, the tweaking and further refinement of the final options took nearly two months. As they say, “The journey is the reward.”

Here’s the final logo.

Menara Binjai Final Logo

From the logo, we quickly moved into creating the marketing collateral, press ad and other communication materials. Priority went to the marketing brochure, visual elements onsite including hoarding and site banners. We had anticipated challenges with the production of the brochure as we, naturally, opted for eco-paper (sourced from Fine Paper Takeo). Eco-paper is always very tricky to print on due to its absorption characteristics and reaction to ink. Nonetheless, after much testing internally, the end result exceeded expectations. Hats off to the boys at Five Stars Press.

Menara Binjai Brochure Cover

Menara Binjai Press Ad

Site Hoarding

To complement the website and overall marketing efforts, we recently assisted in setting up a Facebook page for the project. More great things to come as the building construction goes full steam towards completion in Q4 2011.

Have feedback? We’d love to hear from you.

by Jason Lim

Gap, the 40-year old American clothing company, is also one of the most popular with net sales of $3.8 billion in 2009. The cool, sometimes simple visual language through its collaterals and advertising has worked plenty well over the year. With 1,140 stores in the U.S. and almost 300 more abroad, Gap has been synonymous with hip, wearable clothes with reasonable prices. In a shocking, unexpected turn, Gap launched its new logo quietly a little while ago. The new look Helvetica Neue- (our favourite font, no doubt) powered logo was almost a slap in the face for some. With mouths a-gapped (pun intended) and thousands of remarks and comments all over the world after, Gap seems to have back-tracked on their design decision. Too much gap (change) isn’t good for Gap, it seems. Mind the Gap (as the Brits may say).

Just like many who were appalled at the new logo and recommended an improvement, I propose this as the revision to the revision

What do you think?

Posted via email from scratching the surface

Personal friend, Mareena Yahya Kershot, has put her hidden talent, and the love of Malaysia and nature as a whole to good use. Welcome – RIMBA, her very own locally-grown label, which means Pristine Forest in Malay. Using fruits as her motifs in her first range of hand-painted originals, they currently feature:

1) Pisang ( Banana)
2) Rambutan
3) Durian
4) Manggis ( Mangosteen)

These T-shirts are for exclusively for children. They come in S, M and L sizes. They are in the retail channels yet, but will be appearing in KLCC, Bangsar and other places soon. If you’re interested to get some for your children, drop us a line at info@scratchdisk.biz.

scratchdisk is delighted to support this local talent, and proud to have been commissioned on a pro bono basis to develop the logo identity and label for RIMBA.

Best of luck, Mareena & RIMBA!

Posted via email from scratching the surface

MeatWorks Restaurant, the contemporary restaurant based in Solaris, Mont Kiara is fast becoming THE place for good, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth steaks. MeatWorks has been one of the most challenging and fulfilling project for scratchdisk ever. Aside from developing the brand, visual identity, advertising and web, we also helped MeatWorks to take advantage of social media with strong presence in Twitter and now, Facebook. It’s been quite a journey, stay tuned for more great things from MeatWorks!

+ Follow MeatWorks on Twitter
+ Add MeatWorks as a friend on Facebook
+ Be a fan of MeatWorks on Facebook

Follow MeatWorks on Twitter, and we’ll keep you posted on the up-and-coming Facebook and official website.

+ MeatWorks on Twitter
+ National Feedlot Corporation

Partnering DesignLogix, Paper Cut Ideas, Simpleet Solutions and Wilfredstudios, scratchdisk creative is now part of a bigger entity. Consisting of young, dynamic, tech-savvy and mobile creative teams, Level5 Creative Group offers a unique blend of creative solutions in design, advertising, branding, interior branding, web and visual communication.

Looking to bring your business to a higher level? Level5 is here to help.

Distinction and Differentiation. Key elements to bringing your brand to another level, and leaving your competitors in the dust. Brands like Target and Apple do it. So should you. And us.

Watch the video from Quo Vadis Brand Communication.