Dead Poets
Haunted Hand
New Brand Identity, Custom typeface.
Dead Poets is a neighborhood dive bar, café, barbershop, and event space. The core theme of the space is to pay tribute to deceased artists — musicians, painters, writers, actors, film directors, and many others.
Rather than using conventional branding, we embraced serious spiritualism and summoned spirits from beyond. Using a “haunted hand,” we wrote “Dead Poets” repeatedly, creating a logo that’s always in flux — written by ghosts.
To create visual language suitable for an easygoing and fun dive bar, while pushing beyond traditional American retro aesthetics toward something more contemporary.
Inspired by the name, our spiritual sessions with typographer’s “haunted hand” produced unusual handwritten notes. By writing with closed eyes, using the non-dominant hand, holding pens awkwardly, writing with feet, or attaching implements to long sticks or heavy objects — any technique that limited control — we allowed “chance” and “spirit” to emerge through the process.
Featured on:
- D&AD, Graphite Pencil
- Tokyo TDC, Prize Nominee
Award360, Winner
Typeface:
Custom made for the project
Italian Plate
Paper:
GMUND
Think we’d be a great fit for your brief?
Drop us a line to [email protected]