Graphic designer and typographer Jonathan Barnbrook was commissioned to create the visual identity for the 2010 Biennale of Sydney in Australia. This unique corporate identity created for Australia’s largest contemporary art festival, which runs until 1 August 2010, communicates the multifaceted and eclectic ideas that can be seen at the festival.

Barnbrook developed the identity in a modular way allowing it to be arranged in many different sequences. The flexibility of the modular blocks meant that Barnbrook’s work could be used across different applications, from the cover of the catalogue to the website, posters, bags, T-shirts and other signage. Inspired by the work of artist and filmmaker Harry Smith, the primary layer of blocks use textual information, illustrations from scientific reference books and stills from Smith’s films, among other things.

Says Barnbrook: “Design shapes the environment, changing the way we perceive things and informing our choices.”