Stylogeny combining Corporate Identity Modernism × Rave

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Style combination · Contrasts

Corporate Identity Modernism × Rave

Rave flyers parodied corporate logos; set a sober corporate mark beside its flyer pastiche to make the détournement legible.

From the research on Rave & Acid House Graphics

Mix them and make something Corporate Identity Modernism Rave

OrbitCorporate Identity × Rave1955 · 1988
A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Corporate Identity Modernism, their arrangement from Corporate Identity Modernism, the finish from Rave. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

01

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Corporate Identity Modernism Rave & Acid House Graphics

Type from Corporate Identity Modernism
Colour from Rave
Form from Corporate Identity Modernism
Composition from Corporate Identity Modernism
Surface from Rave

02

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Corporate Identity Modernism

Orbit

Inter Tight, standing in for Helvetica

Text · Rave

The pocket-sized promotional art of acid house, rave and early techno, handed out in record shops and car parks to advertise all-night parties. Fronts revived psychedelia through smileys, trippy eyes, fractals and airbrushed fantasy landscapes; backs crammed DJ line-ups, sound-system credits and info-line numbers. Early desktop software, chrome 3D logotypes and fluorescent or metallic inks gave it a synthetic, hedonistic glow.

IBM Plex Mono; Rave used Eurostile Extended and OCR-A

03

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Rave, with a counter-accent from Corporate Identity Modernism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Corporate Identity Modernism Rave & Acid House Graphics

  • #0a0a0a ground · 36%
  • #ffe600 ink · 14%
  • #ff00b4 accent · 18%
  • #d7261e accent · 14%
  • #00e5ff accent · 10%
  • #0a4fa0 accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #0a0a0a;
  --ink: #ffe600;
  --accent-1: #ff00b4;
  --accent-2: #d7261e;
  --accent-3: #00e5ff;
  --accent-4: #0a4fa0;
  --font-display: "Inter Tight", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "IBM Plex Mono", monospace;
}

04

The two styles

A blue circle sits above two mirrored red tapered shapes separated by a widening white gap. Large, bold black lettering reading “Apex” appears underneath on a white background. 1955–1990 · North America, Western Europe, Global / networked Corporate Identity Modernism Modernist reduction applied to corporate communication. A company's whole public face (trademark, logotype, stationery, packaging, vehicles and signage) was unified by an abstract symbol, a single typeface and one colour, all policed by a graphic standards manual. Pioneered by Paul Rand, Chermayeff & Geismar, Unimark and Lippincott & Margulies, it made the reductive mark and the grid the visual language of multinational business and government. A neon psychedelic poster reads “SOLAR RITUAL” above a large reflective golden sun with a smiling human face, surrounded by warped black-and-white patterns, planets, stars, and glowing orbital rings. Globe and smiley-face badges, small flying saucers, and a silhouetted crowd beneath multicoloured laser beams fill the lower portion. 1988–2000 · Western Europe Rave & Acid House Graphics The pocket-sized promotional art of acid house, rave and early techno, handed out in record shops and car parks to advertise all-night parties. Fronts revived psychedelia through smileys, trippy eyes, fractals and airbrushed fantasy landscapes; backs crammed DJ line-ups, sound-system credits and info-line numbers. Early desktop software, chrome 3D logotypes and fluorescent or metallic inks gave it a synthetic, hedonistic glow.

05

More combinations

With Corporate Identity Modernism

All 28 combinations with Corporate Identity Modernism

With Rave

Every style combination