Proletarijat Club / Visual System
project overview
PROLETARIJAT IS A VISUAL IDENTITY BUILT ON THE SHARED DNA OF POST-USSR URBAN CULTURE AND EARLY TECHNO. “PROLETARIAT” IS A HISTORICAL TERM REFERRING TO THE WORKING CLASS IN SOCIALIST AND POST-SOCIALIST SOCIETIES — THE PEOPLE WHOSE LABOR (ТРУД) SUSTAINED INDUSTRY, FACTORIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. IN THE 90S, TECHNO SPREAD THROUGH ABANDONED PLANTS, CONCRETE SHELLS AND INDUSTRIAL ZONES — THE SAME LANDSCAPE FAMILIAR ACROSS THE ENTIRE POST-SOVIET TERRITORY. IT BECAME A LANGUAGE OF ESCAPE, UNITY AND NIGHT-TIME COLLECTIVISM. RAW GEOMETRY, HEAVY MATERIALS, FUNCTIONAL TYPOGRAPHY AND THE COLD ELEGANCE OF BRUTALISM. NEON, METAL AND INDUSTRIAL REPETITION CREATE A SYSTEM THAT FEELS BOTH ARCHITECTURAL AND EMOTIONAL — A REFLECTION OF HOW TECHNO HAS ALWAYS LIVED IN OUR CITIES: AS SOUND, LIGHT AND CONCRETE.
Concept & Execution
THE PROJECT STARTS FROM A GRAPHIC PROBLEM: HOW TO TRANSLATE POST-SOVIET SPATIAL LANGUAGE INTO A FUNCTIONAL, MODULAR IDENTITY SYSTEM FOR A CONTEMPORARY TECHNO SPACE. THE SOLUTION BUILDS ON BRUTALIST DESIGN PRINCIPLES — REDUCTION, GEOMETRY, STRUCTURAL CLARITY, MATERIAL HONESTY. THE WORD “PROLETARIJAT” BECOMES THE SYSTEM’S ANCHOR: THE INSERTION OF J, REFERENCING THE RUSSIAN «Я» (“I”), INTRODUCES A VERTICAL STROKE THAT DICTATES PROPORTION, RHYTHM AND ALIGNMENT THROUGHOUT THE IDENTITY.
AN ENTIRE GRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT WAS DESIGNED: POSTERS, SPATIAL NAVIGATION, STICKER SYSTEMS (INCLUDING EDIBLE VERSIONS), PRINT MATERIALS AND DIGITAL ASSETS. THE WORK REQUIRED CREATING A LIVING GRID — ONE STABLE ENOUGH TO UNIFY ALL COMMUNICATION, BUT OPEN ENOUGH TO ABSORB THE CLUB’S TEXTURE, UNPREDICTABILITY AND MOVEMENT, ALLOWING PROMO GROUPS AND PARTNERS TO JOIN CONCEPTUALLY AND VISUALLY. THE IDENTITY HAD TO OPERATE LIKE A TOOL: EASY TO APPLY, RESPONSIVE TO SCALE, AND RECOGNIZABLE EVEN WHEN FRAGMENTED ACROSS WALLS, POSTERS OR MOVING LIGHT.
EVERY GRAPHIC ELEMENT WAS DESIGNED WITH THIS ENVIRONMENT IN MIND: BOLD ENOUGH TO READ THROUGH SMOKE, SHARP ENOUGH TO CUT THROUGH NEON, SIMPLE ENOUGH TO SCALE, AND PHYSICAL ENOUGH TO LEAVE MARKS ON WALLS, DOORS AND EVEN BODIES.
Conclusion
PROLETARIJAT’S IDENTITY BECAME A PART OF THE CLUB’S ECOSYSTEM RATHER THAN AN EXTERNAL LAYER.
IT PROVED THAT A GRAPHIC SYSTEM CAN SURVIVE IN A NON-STERILE ENVIRONMENT — IN SOUND, SMOKE, SWEAT, METAL, CROWD DENSITY AND CONSTANT MOTION. THE MARK DIDN'T REMAIN ON POSTERS; IT MOVED ONTO CLOTHING, OBJECTS, WALLS AND EVENTUALLY INTO THE CULTURE ITSELF. A SYSTEM BUILT FROM THE AESTHETICS OF LABOUR AND THE LANGUAGE OF TECHNO — DESIGNED TO EVOLVE THE MORE IT’S USED.
VIEW NEXT PROJECT
LE JARDIN RETROUVÉ — THE PERFUME FOREST INSTALLATION, SHANGHAI
An immersive exhibition that unfolded like a scent-game: my hand-drawn characters reached out to visitors, guiding them through each perfume — every fragrance ready to be explored through glass diffusers resting on acrylic pedestals, merging art, interaction and commerce into one world.
