Beginnings
My parents are both artists. I grew up surrounded by art (and sawdust, as my father renovated our old house). I studied Visual Communication at Central Saint Martins and The Royal College of Art, spending a couple of years at design agency Intro between the courses.
Artistic sensibility
I set up Rudd Studio in 2002 with a view to bringing an artistic sensibility to brand projects. I established a relationship with Channel 4 in the UK and this allowed for an artistic approach to big-scale brand projects. Our 2010 Channel 4 Rebrand, for example, was inspired by Cubism. Art still inspires me; our rebrand for the Warwick Arts Centre owes a debt to the Dada art movement.
Making art
In recent years I started to make my own art. I wanted an open space in which to explore colour ideas that I had developed for the ITV rebrand. Inspiration also travels in the other direction. For example, the more I have embraced colour in my artworks, the more colourful my brand designs have become.
The influence of music
My love of music first led me to designing record covers. I moved towards moving image in order to work more directly with pictures and music in tandem. I am now making ‘living’ logos, like the ITN logo, which move and react to the environment in a musical way. I also think about static visuals in musical terms. For example, my ITV logo design started to come together when I felt a pleasing rhythm across the strokes of the mark.
Working together
Here is what my clients have to say.
“It was a big step to find a team we could trust with our brand identity renewal but from the first meeting we knew Matt understood what we were trying to achieve. The process from start to finish was not only collaborative but fun. As with all creative projects there were rounds of changes and Matt set a good pace and is particularly gifted in presenting his ideas. We had space and time to consider the options and in the end we trusted Matt’s expertise with the final colour decision and haven’t looked back since. The final result still makes us smile when we see it.”
Dan Adamson, Managing Director and Shireen Abbott, Director of Production, Twofour
“It was brilliant to see the reaction from staff when we unveiled the rebrand. Our journalists acknowledge they can be a cynical bunch, but they were hugely enthused by the brand story and loved the logo which made them feel proud of our heritage and excited about our future.”
Lisa Campbell, Director of Corporate Communications, ITN
“Refining the Framestore brand required careful craft and sensitivity. As a large organisation, with five international offices and an ever-evolving creative output, there were many elements and applications to consider. Matt Rudd and his team listened to our requirements and through careful questioning and collaboration have successfully managed to incorporate both Framestore’s heritage and future goals into their response. We are very pleased with the results.”
Mike McGee, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Framestore