Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) have unveiled a new brand identity from Hingston Studio (HS).
Recent years of expansion within the Ridley Scott Creative Group (RSA, Black Dog Films, Scott Free, Darling Films) initiated an opportunity to recalibrate and distil the essence of the RSA brand. With the successful addition of divisions in Unscripted, Short Film, Creative and the restructuring of the advertising and commercials offering, RSA wanted to define its voice and purpose for the next chapter of evolution.
“In response to the ever-evolving demands of the creative industry, we knew that the RSA brand needed to refresh. We commissioned Hingston Studio to create a contemporary and unifying identity that could be applied clearly across the different divisions of RSA” said CEO Luke Scott. “Primarily the aim was to future proof the brand image with a visual language that can more easily evolve and continue to reflect the enduring tenets of our purpose.”
Taking an industry icon and reimagining it at a time of unprecedented change in visual communications, was a challenge that required expertise in creating a digital first brand. “The new identity had to be future proofed to reflect the organisation’s bold ambitions, whilst instilling the values of, excellence, and the humanist qualities synonymous with the RSA name” said Hingston.
Working closely with the founding family, HS created a new identity system for the organisation. At the heart of the identity is a bespoke wordmark, a contemporary, sans serif ligature that unifies the three letters, firmly establishing the notion of collaboration and connection within the group. The new wordmark performs seamlessly at scale in digital and physical environments – from onscreen idents and user interfaces to signage and merchandise.
HS then defined a principle-based system that would allow the new RSA brand to be 'bold, flexible, yet timeless' – creating a framework through which they can evolve and create the building blocks for the future. This typographic framework needed to encompass the existing stable of subsidiaries within the group, but more importantly, serve as a long-term attribute, as the organisation and its associated entities evolve into the next decade and beyond.
The branding, which will be applied across productions and creative, follows Ridley Scott Creative Group companies’ recent successes with the acclaimed multi-part Robbie Williams Netflix documentary, the record-breaking live filming of Madonna Rio Live, the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Photography & Art Division, and a UK-wide commercial campaign for Monzo with Uncommon Creative Studio.