The anticipated launch of the reimagined FATVillage brand has officially made it’s way to the light of day. We’ve taken a little extra pride in this brand + website + app project because it is near and dear to our design-y hearts. FATVillage is our hood. Our ye olde stomping grounds where we spend more time than our own homes. Our studio is located in the emerging FATVillage Arts District, also home to many artist studios and creative businesses. This project not only gave us the freedom to do some really cool work, but also embodies aspects of why we love what we do.

Helping others: FATVillage has been a budding creative community for many years and more recently began gaining momentum in its recognition. We saw an opportunity to really showcase The Village and the talent that makes up The Villagers. We created a responsive website around the objective to highlight all of the awesome creative studios, artists and events found in FATVillage. We gave everyone their own page on the website where they can upload images of their work, studio and events. Along with a custom blog that can be updated regularly using their own personal backend login, each Villager is also able to offer insight into their work or business. The website has become a venue to showcase + promote not only FATVillage, but also the people who make up our creative community. The interactive mobile app that helium created also speaks to that primary objective. We developed a matching game that requires the user to visit each studio in The Village in order to complete various levels [and of course there are super cool prizes donated by the various artists + businesses].

Art for Art: We had the opportunity to design for an Arts District. ‘Nuff said. The helium team has a foundation in fine arts – we’re all a bunch of creative nerds who probably doodle more than we should. Art is a passion and being able to utilize our personal work for something that we love is like a match made in designer heaven.

Community: We believe in putting out what you wanna get back and doing the right thing. Cliché, but it works. We love our community and are overly excited to do whatever we can to contribute. This reimagining effort of FATVillage has allowed us to really put a stamp on Fort Lauderdale. With the new logo, branding, print collateral, website, app and events that has gone into raising awareness + support for The Village, we know that only good can come to this community. Ultimately it is about making a difference, increasing the cultural + social + creative influence on our city.

Create a Voice: A community is nothing without a voice to bring it together. FATVillage was a lot of good ideas + separate entities that just needed a little “sauce” to tie it all together. The individual artists and studios create a stronger presence when highlighted together as a collective community, rather than individual units, which can appear disjointed to the public. We saw an opportunity to create a strong and unified voice for FATVillage, one that spoke to the public as a cool, urban creative community with assets far beyond graffiti walls and historical warehouse spaces. We have begun to highlight the history of Flagler Village [where FATVillage is centrally located within Fort Lauderdale], not only embracing the more recent evolution but also showcasing its roots with Henry Flagler who founded the area originally in the 1800′s. The more depth in voice, the more value FATVillage ultimately has.

This ongoing project will continue to develop as FATVillage emerges on the radar and gains more recognition. In the meantime, make sure to check out the reimagined FATVillage identity + website + app that helium created. And don’t miss ARTWALK in The Village on the last Saturday of every month!