Ball & Doggett

In early 2017, B.J.Ball and K.W.Doggett joined forces to become Ball & Doggett, the largest paper distributor in Australia and New Zealand. The merger was as an opportunity to build a new identity that better reflected the true nature of the business – that of a highly diversified, innovative company that supplies every material associated with the print and production supply chain – paper, packaging substrates, inks, foils, plastics and much more.

The new identity celebrates the physical nature and tactility of its product range. The simplified letterforms of the brandmark enable it to demonstrate various behaviours and material properties. Coupled with imagined weird and wonderful manufacturing processes, the identity presents the joy in all materials.

When It came to anything printed, materials are pushed to the front in applications. This meant toning down or straight up avoiding excessive graphics, and instead leaning more towards utility of information, simplified typography and a focus on making the materials do all the talking. The material is the central piece – it’s colour, texture, smell, weight etc, and every piece of design is there to support it, not distract from it.

Understanding the need to tell a human story, we also developed a series of character illustrations to reflect the people of Ball & Doggett. These are then used for navigation and informative elements online, and across internal communications to facilitate the merger transition.