When you think of luxury design, what comes to mind? Most likely minimalism, a lack of color, and typography that is, well, bland.
Maud, a team of designers, developers, writers, producers and strategists based in Sydney and Melbourne, recognizes that luxury design consists of simplicity and substance. Using these two main ideas, the identity they've created for Romance Was Born is both minimal and full of deeper meaning.
Instead of a minimalist approach, Maud leaned into a slightly more excessive approach but did so in a way that doesn't lose function or efficiency.
Through its clothing collections, Romance Was Born connects people to art, nature, nostalgia and the Australian Identity. The label has been shown in Paris; acquired by national institutions, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Powerhouse Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria; and worn by the likes of Cate Blanchett, Beyonce, Sia and Daphne Guinness. In 2019, it was featured in the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
In recent years, industry heavyweights such as Balmain, Burberry, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent have opted for the inconspicuous austerity of sans serif logotypes, signalling a wider change in how our culture thinks about and visualises luxury. Once flamboyant and conspicuous, luxury is now all about simplicity and substance.
In this sea of sans serif, we refuted the solely minimalist gallery approach and leant into the flamboyant and the excessive, producing a visual identity as expressive as the RWB sensibility without losing function and utility.
The brand is built on a polished, custom designed logotype with flared stroke endings reminiscent of grand chiselled engravings. It operates in a structured and fluid form, taking cues from the exuberant spirit of the label, and while the stacked version becomes the functional maker’s mark, more expressive and experimental lettering can be applied across packaging and digital channels.
Project Credits