Stations are no longer places that people just pass through. They are places where people live, work and shop, and can form the very heart of our communities. Atkins, one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, was asking for a premium sales report to show how a station and its design can add real value to our cities and the people who live in them.
What is the true value of a station? This report looks at the essential ways stations can add real value, and gives six examples from across the UK of how stations have made an impact on their surrounding people, communities and cities. This groundbreaking designs – including Birmingham, Glasgow or Crossrail’s new Bond Street – required a brochure design and layout that reflected that modernity and innovation.
The brief was clear: Atkins wanted this brochure to boost that part of their business by standing out over their competitors. After a first approach with them and a look at their previous editorial work, the decision was taking their image to a more sophisticated level.
To achieve that, the brochure was conceptualised with a very clean and contemporary structure in mind, closer to architecture studios and art galleries than engineering companies. It focus greatly in the visual part, helped by the use of big pictures – both in colour and black and white – and superposed pull quotes and headlines. Giving big importance to the white space was necessary to make it look more refined.
But respecting the brand was crucial too. Atkins is a renowned engineer company with a very strong reputation. For that reason, their guidelines were strictly followed in terms of typeface, colours and tone of voice, to make sure their values as a big organisation were still recognisable. Finding a balance between their legacy and their future allowed them to explore a new visual code full of exciting possibilities.
