Commune

"Eat to create, don't create to eat!" words all designers should live by. This is one of the cornerstone beliefs of Japanese Design Company Commune.

Some of you may already be familiar with the work of Commune, as I discovered them last week and felt the need to force them upon the world around me. So for those of you who have already perused their site and are sick of me forcing their work down your throat, I'm sorry. For the rest of you though you're in for a treat.

Commune are a small design group with big ideas. Not content on having a niche style or even profession (by which I mean being known solely as a packaging design company, etc) Commune's portfolio is vast and varied with an abundance of different projects. It would seem they take the opportunity to design whenever they can, no matter what the subject. Any chance to spread their creative wings, they take.

Unfortunately I know very little about the actual work of the company (because their site is in Japanese, and I'm too lazy to learn how to read it), so I will just showcase work of theirs I really like and talk about why.

My favorite pieces by Commune have to be their Identity Designs. As I mentioned they dable in many areas of Design but it would seem that they really enjoy creating logos and finding fun ways of using them. This is a playful company that create work that just makes you want to smile.

Below is a new business card they designed for themselves which not only informs the recpiriant of their recent relocation, but also shows a new approach and style they hope to bring forth in their work. Light hearted but still controlled in design Commune show with ease that they know 'how' to deisgn; it's the fun element they really like to focus on.

I absolutely love the Happy Tree & Co business cards. Commune have done their best here to create a business card that the recipient would want to keep by turning into a sort of sculpture. Having the tree pop out of the card may seem very simple and obvious but I know if I was given one of these cards it would be sitting on my desk for a long time. Something about the design just brings a smile to my face. I also really like the inclusion of photographs of the staff on the personal side of the card. I have never seen it done before but it makes a lot of sense as people are likely to forget who exactly gave them the card. This way the recipient will be able to assign the business to a memorable and friendly face. 

Commune have an abundance of projects on their website, so instead of have me rambling on I strongly suggest you go explore it yourselves (bare with it, it can take a while to load due to its format). The studio have worked for dozens of different companies from restaurants to football teams, and many more. If you're not a fan of the somewhat 'cute' work I have show here don't let that put you off looking at the rest of their work. I grantee there is something for everyone in there. 


Below I've included a few samples of some of my favorite projects of theirs. Enjoy.

Another innovative business card design.