Culdesac

Someplace Better

Our Role

Art Direction, Brand Identity, Brand Writing, Motion Graphics, Physical Environments and Exhibitions, Research and Strategy, Responsive Web Design and Development, UI / UX Design

Collaborators

Jan Buchczik

Visionaries assemble

Movers and shakers

Toward a car-free future

Creating someplace better

Visionaries assemble. In 2019, a team of urban planners, coders, environmental experts, architects, and mobility specialists came together based on a simple insight.

Movers and shakers. The group, which called itself Culdesac, recognized that the way we move defines the way we live.

Toward a car-free future. And the way we move is changing fast, with countless ways to get around today beyond private cars.

Creating someplace better. That’s why Culdesac is creating the first car-free neighborhood in the United States.

Live life, don't drive right through it

The pioneering real estate development company approached Athletics to define a brand strategy and identity that would introduce their radical concept for the future of cities to prospective residents, press, and government officials, while mitigating some of the predictable concerns Americans might have about giving up their cars entirely. We determined a strategic platform based on the idea of “light-impact living” (as opposed to “car-free living”) which still accomodated ride-sharing while tapping into widespread interest in sustainable lifestyles among Culdesac’s target audiences. Looking at their long-term goal from the most scaled-back view, we encouraged Culdesac to think of itself as offering “a physical and digital blueprint for communities to leverage the full potential of new mobility,” thereby pinpointing new mobility methods as the lynchpin of their entire model.

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Maximum mobility, minimum fuss

Inspired by our strategy, the Culdesac brand identity is based on the idea of effortless transportation, and the enhanced quality of life that comes from living in a community where everything you need (and more) is in walking distance. With sinuous lines connecting information, imagery, and illustration, the design idea conveys the cultural vibrancy of Culdesac communities, the first of which launches in 2020 in Tempe, Arizona. Illustrations by Jan Buchczik show people engaged in various activities, interacting with one another and the physical landscape of Culdesac communities. They lend a lightheartedness to the brand, further accentuated by an earthy color palette and a friendly serif / san-serif type set.

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Coming soon to a city near you

Leading up to the launch of Culdesac Tempe, Athletics designed and developed an attractive digital splash page aimed at elucidating the company’s concept to press and prospective residents, and leading these audiences to key information and resources. In parallel with the launch of the site the Wall Street Journal published an article about Culdesac that drove tens of thousands of visitors to the website, and became the most-read article on the Journal’s website for multiple consecutive days. Even with the launch of Tempe on the horizon, Culdesac is looking way into the future, with a goal is to remake cities for people, not cars. We’re glad to have supported the company on this critical first step.

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