Underscore was recently tasked with creating a brand and communications for the 2011 Music Week event held at Duke of York Square.

The identity was created using hand drawn bespoke illustrations making a nod to the traditional era of jazz, partnered with a modern hand drawn typeface to add a contemporary touch to the event.

The week-long event celebrated the best from the London College of Music and talent from all over the capital and we are already looking forward to Music Week in 2012.

underscore are proud to present the launch of a sophisticated and highly customer focused retail website for Duke of York Square, Chelsea.

The site reflects this exclusive destination as a haven for the shopaholic with all of the elements across the site being linked to their consumer facebook page so we can promote the retailers and their various events and offers in real time and in ways that allows the customer to feel more connected to the brand.

Unique features include an auto daytime/night time conversion that switches over relevant images at a pre determined time in order to fully promote the ‘enjoy life’ mantra of Duke of York Square and also the quality of the restaurant and leisure offer in the evening.

We hope you enjoy www.dukeofyorksquare.com or better still take a visit to the Kings Road for the full experience!

Hi, my name is Jake and I’m taking a break from Glenthorne High School in Sutton to do my work experience here at underscore towers, and thought I would just share my thoughts on how computers have helped me improve my graphic design skills here and at school.

As a young person, we have all these big, bright, bold ideas in our heads and we should express our ideas through pictures and changing the pictures around to get our opinion and thoughts across in an instant. As computers were made as young people grew up, they worked together and united and now younger people have a better idea of computers than the older generation without even trying (this sentence has been edited slightly by Susie to remove all references to ‘old people’ and ‘forgetting things’)!

We can try graphic design in year 10 when we choose our subjects (only some schools do this subject although technology is similar). We use Photoshop in school and get to know it very easily as we young people are also quick learners!

I am enjoying my work experience very much and it definitely confirms my career choice and I would love to work at underscore, although I do need to study and practice using graphic design programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop.

Computers have helped me a lot in my lifetime to generate and develop my graphic design skills. However I hope to improve them a lot more focusing on graphic design eight hours a day for a week. I also hope to enjoy my time at underscore. I am enjoying it very much so far and I hope I carry on doing so.

Thank you to all the team for welcoming me very nicely into underscore. I got settled in very quickly and became part of the team as I think they would agree. I would love to come and work here after I have finished school, as I love what they do and hope to stay in touch.

This Monday the doors to the UK’s first M&M’s World Store were opened to the public.  Located on the corner of Leicester Square and with 35,000 sq ft of floor space, the store is even bigger than the New York equivalent.  As you can imagine, we just had to get down there to experience it for ourselves.

In short, it’s amazing! Literally everything has an M&M’s touch. You can let the ‘M&M’s Color Analyser’ advise you on which color M&M’s you should eat on that particular day or you can take a picture of yourself in between the oversized M&M’s Beatle characters.  Mars has even installed a big red bus in the centre of the store, fully equipped with screens that play short animated movies starring the iconic Red and Yellow M&M’s characters.  The staff are buzzing with energy and playfully interact with shoppers as they peruse the store.  The whole package really supports the fun emphasis behind the M&M’s brand and the overall customer experience is great.

Let us know if you’re going to visit the M&M’s World Store!

As guardians of the Alexandra Palace brand, underscore were recently tasked with developing a sub brand specifically for the newly refurbished onsite bar.

Renamed the Bar & Kitchen, the design solution was to introduce a 19th century style that enhanced the unrivalled Victorian setting that could compliment and yet sit away from the overarching Alexandra Palace brand. The theme was then rolled out and incorporated into all elements of the customer experience apart from the rustic furniture and the retro music concert posters that make Ally Pally the quirky destination that it is.

It’s been a busy few weeks at underscore towers – I don’t know why I call it underscore towers it makes it sound like we are all locked up in here, like rapunzel, that said its no fairy tale!

We’ve been appointed to create the brand identity for a funky London micro brewery and a revolutionary Vietnamese restaurant concept that’s coming to the UK.

We’ve also been asked to refresh the brand of well established Hong Kong restaurant chain….so keep your eyes on the underscore site for more details!

The Kaiser Chiefs have released their new album, “The Future is Medieval” today in a quite remarkable way. Instead of selling their album via iTunes, they are offering fans a chance to create a bespoke album for themselves. Fans can select 10 tracks from 20 new songs, choose the playlist and design the album cover. They are encouraged to promote their own version of the album to other fans via social media and receive £1 for every version they sell.

But if fans are having an off-day on inspiration, they can also choose for an album version made by the Alzheimer’s Society, of which all profits made from its sales will go directly to the charity. By releasing the album this way, the music industry tries to discourage illegal downloading of albums and tracks.

We think it’s a great way of connecting with your fans and spreading your message in a more active and fun way.

Take a look at the Kaiser Chiefs website (www.kaiserchiefs.com) and let us know what you think of this initiative.