Luka Agency
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Brand Identity
Cicada Innovations
Cicada Innovations Rebrand
Creative Direction:
Kevin Tran
Strategy:
Kevin Tran, Damien Attenborough
Design:
Kevin Tran, Rekha Dhanaram
Year
2023
Overview
South Of The River’ tells the story of Kevin’s year-long experience living abroad. As a progression from the innocent, playful spirit of Kevin’s last body of work ‘Strobe’, the artworks in ‘South Of The River’ are imbued with sombre, occasionally dark undertones and a sense of maturity and growth.
Memories of significant people, places and events are personified through a new cast of creatures and characters. Touching on themes of displacement, seasonal metamorphosis and self-discovery, the new works are abstracted re-imaginings echoing the artist’s underlying narrative of pivotal experiences and reflective insights.
DISCOVER TOMORROW
Strategy
Settle approached us to create a new brand identity that reflects their innovative approach to tackling homelessness.
Our brand strategy was guided by the idea of ‘Moving Forward’, reflecting Settle's mission of empowering young people and the transformational relationships they create.
A core principle of Settle’s work is to involve young people in everything they do from programme design to decision making.
Since I was a kid, it had always been my dream to live abroad. I loved the idea of an adventure where I could explore the world so on my 26th birthday, I bought myself a one way ticket to London.
I left Sydney in the peak of summer on a 46 degree day. After a stressful car ride to the airport, some tough goodbyes with my nearest and dearest and a heavy 28 hour flight, I found myself in cold, gloomy Londontown
My train commute from the airport into London's CBD was pretty surreal. People crammed like sardines inside, trees and buildings blanketed in snow outside. An hour or so later, I was staring down a funny looking row of townhouses called Toussaint Walk.
I had been lucky to snap up a free room in Bermondsey, a suburb on the outskirts of central London just south of the river Thames. Inside, the house was surprisingly cosy but my room upstairs was filthy, littered with makeup powder and empty medicine bags. I remember thinking this last tenant was a grub. A few weeks later, I found out the property had been drug raided and that's why the room was vacant
Story
I was eager to venture out and explore London but it was early February and the winter gods were out in full force. Despite having every intention to peruse the city streets, I was more preoccupied with staying warm, avoiding puddles and awkwardly battling windswept rain behind my ratty umbrella. After three weeks of fruitless expeditions, my patience to contend with these hostile forces wore thin and I found myself housebound with nothing to do.
Artwork Info
I had 2 months up my sleeve before I would need to find a job so I decided to indulge in some painting. It had been 3 years since I had put paint to paper. Without much thought, I decided to document what I saw around me. In particular, I noticed the dirty red brickwork that characterised many of the townhouses around Bermondsey, the rich burgundy roof tiles of the public housing estates across the road and of course, endless slabs of concrete grey. These early observations became the colour palette for South Of The River
Artwork Info
'The Great Suffolk'
2014
1480 x 870 mm
Opening Night
By September, I had 30 incomplete paintings lying around my house and the finish line seemed nowhere in sight. Some days I was just pushing colours around aimlessly so I started doubting if they were worth all the effort. Eventually, I conceded defeat, packed away my paints and hid everything under my bed.
My mum used to call me her little fire tiger. It’s my Chinese zodiac element and animal. As a kid, I had always liked the idea of being called a fire tiger; it seemed to resonate with my over-abundant energy and impulsive behaviour. ‘Bermondsey Red’ is a self-portrait of this time: a mirror reflecting a tired, timid and dejected tiger stagnant under a blizzard of uncertainty
Client Love
“Luka helped us articulate and bring to life our DNA. The research insights communicated our value beyond what we could even see. Our mission got sharper. Our identity became crystal clear. Our verbal and visual identity is compelling to everyone we need to reach. Luka has taken the complex journey of deep tech and the impact we can have on the world, and humanised it and made it real for our residents, our community, our collaborators and our partners.”
— Sally-Ann Williams, CEO
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