Globular and modular: Snøhetta’s generative identity for Recreate explores its innovative character

Shaping the identity of Norwegian property developer Recreate, Snøhetta Design, an internationally-operating creative sister studio to multidisciplinary architecture practice Snøhetta, have crafted a fluid digital space that ultimately reflects the company’s name and ambition. Having already made waves in the industry, producing innovative socially and environmentally-focused projects, Snøhetta saw it necessary for Recreate’s identity to visually illustrate the influence and power of what they do and what lies at the centre of their practice: change. Acting as a practical and expressive portal for Recreate – from its use of modular arrangements to iconography and pragmatic wayfinding solutions within their properties – the brand centres across a custom-built app that forms globular, fluid patterns built from its logomark. “The generative app opens up a lot for the client, but with certain set restrictions,” Designer Petter Torgersen Myhr tells us, discussing the control and concept behind the application. “The shapes are just a variation of squares with rounded corners, eventually becoming just a round circle,” Torgersen Myhr continues, allowing the user to adjust numerous factors, including its aspect ratio, shape quantities, scale and colours, to name a few. “When animated automatically you can adjust the speed and tempo and the size of the ripples and the intensity,” he explains, adding, “although it might sound restrictive, it’s surprisingly easy to create completely different outtakes,” culminating in a striking system that embodies and explores what ‘change’ can look like. To support the more abstract and whimsical elements of Recreate’s illustrative output, Snøhetta settled on Dinamo’s Favorit as the hero typeface, reflecting the characterful and considered nature of the company through its similarly playful yet pragmatic construction. “Favorit is a modern classic, a proper workhorse with just enough character to make it stand out in the right way,” Torgersen Myhr remarks, noting a particular fondness for the typeface’s ‘R’ glyph. “It also creates a nice modern look for a client,” he adds, “that operates in a landscape often dominated by more classic serif types,” a sentiment equally echoed in their choice of colours.