Camden Market’s new identity is ‘as relevant to the Snapchat generation as to its entrepreneurial heritage’
Camden Market has introduced a new brand and visual identity to ensure it has a coherent and defined look that appeals to its broad range of visitors.
Camden Market’s new identity is ‘as relevant to the Snapchat generation as to its entrepreneurial heritage’
Parent company Market Tech approached branding agency Ragged Edge to create an approach that is relevant to a millenial audience, works both on and offline and importantly retains the unique feel of the market.
Ragged Edge immersed themselves in Camden Market’s quantitative research and spoke to more than 100 stakeholders including stallholders, residents, workers and tourists. The new brand idea plays on the market’s commitment to originality and aims to be ‘as relevant to the Snapchat generation as it is to the market’s entrepreneurial heritage’.
For the visual identity, the agency took inspiration from the hand-painted Camden Lock sign on the bridge, using the letterforms as a template to create two bespoke typefaces for the brand: Camden Slab and Camden Sans. These allow spaces in the market to be branded without using the logo.
The Camden Market creative team launched the brand, named Unfollow Convention, with a collaboration with street artist, David Samuel. Samuel used the typefaces to create a set of hand-painted signs on Chalk Farm Road. Additional projects in development include a range of Camden Market products, wayfinding throughout the market as well as a series of experiential installations.
“Camden Market has a rich history of breaking the rules,” said Co-founder of Ragged Edge, Max Ottignon. “It’s always been a place where people are free to express themselves and their ideas. We didn’t want to impose a corporate brand system because that wouldn’t have been true to the market’s spirit. Instead, we set out to create a kind of ‘unbrand’ – a toolkit for self-expression.”
“The market already had an iconic sign: the hand-painted ‘Camden Lock’ lettering on the bridge next to its entrance. It would have been crazy to try and compete with this, so we embraced it as a way to connect Camden’s past, present and future. It meant that the typefaces it inspired are rooted in the market’s rebellious history, while the range of weights give the brand the flexibility to continue to conjure the unexpected.”