How do you build a brand for an organisation fighting disinformation? Studio Cronica explains

In a world rife with disinformation, the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF) is doing some special work. By combating the burgeoning growth of disinformation, the collaborative initiative aims to support media literacy across Europe. To do so, it provides grants to projects dedicated to improving the quality of information in the digital age, enhancing the public’s ability to critically engage with the information they’re handed, resulting in a more informed, resilient European society. The initiative – founded by the European University Institute and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation – needed an identity that would capture their work at a glance, and they shared this brief with Studio Cronica, based in Brighton. To bottle the essence of an organisation that’s working to elevate the quality of news and media, the studio looked back at the evolution of “how we consume information,” says Founder & Creative Director Sergio Cameira. The transition from traditional print media to the digital screens that give most of us a sizeable chunk of the information we consume daily became a jumping-off point, as the team began dissecting the visual language of the mediums. “This approach pays homage to established media while incorporating the sensationalist style of tabloids,” Cameira tells us. “In today’s society, we are inundated with information from all sides, making it increasingly difficult to discern truth from falsehood. Our goal was to explore this information overload and balance it with the clarity and legibility needed to ensure the fund’s purpose is communicated effectively.” From print media, Studio Cronica borrowed the typographic language and the gridded structure of newspaper layouts. With this, they cleverly blended more digital-native elements, such as white rectangular windows with rounded corners and drop shadows, drawing the mind to the structure of tabs and UI elements. “We also designed a series of icons commonly found in digital interfaces (such as arrows and search icons) and used them purposefully and decoratively, adding to the organised yet dynamic visual ‘mess,’” adds Cameira.