Revolver has a new identity, brand campaign and website, created by Holt.

The ideas for Revolver’s new look and feel were ignited by a chat about the milestones and icons of the film industry.

The earliest form of the motion picture was the flip book, Revolver owners, Steve Rogers and Michael Ritchie, and creative director of Holt, Christopher Holt, recalled. These were first invented in the 1860s and are a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion. The idea for an identity for Revolver that was in flux, implying a sense of continuous motion, was born during that meeting.

The logo developed from there. In the new logo the company name, Revolver, always cut in two. Two thirds of the word appear at the top of the space with the remaining third at the bottom, revolving around a central axis. The device creates an illusion of motion, of a credit roll moving up on a screen.

Which brings us to the second film industry icon the team has used: the credit roll. This has become the new Revolver site’s navigation. On the Revolver homepage, the visitor is greeted by a full bleed image from one of the company’s productions, over which rolls the new identity and ‘end credits’ listing Revolver’s roster of directors. Clicking on the credits will navigate the visitor to each director’s reel, or left unclicked, the credits will roll ad infinitum.

“As a company that makes film, the idea of an identity which would evoke a feeling of movement in both digital and static formats had real currency. Revolver’s new brand creates a graphic illusion of motion, giving a sense that something has come before and will come after what is immediately before the viewer,” Holt explained.

The logo is rendered in a contemporary, but classic, all-caps sans serif font, Founders Grotesk by New Zealand typographer Kris Sowersby of Klim Type Foundry. The secondary font is Henrik Klubel’s serif Antwerp, out of London’s A2 Type foundry, its type reminiscent of 20^th Century novels.

The new brand will launch internationally with a print, online and direct marketing campaign, introducing the new identity, listing Revolver’s roster of talent and showcasing the credit roll concept. Holt has also created corporate collateral, promotional marketing material including screen-printed posters and a suite of branded on-set materials such as call sheets, director’s treatments and story board templates. Revolver’s sister company, Will O’Rourke, will be integrated with the identity in several applications.

“Michael and I wanted to find a way to make our livery less static. It seemed to make sense for a company that spends its time creating moving images that this was reflected in the way it presented itself. The idea of the credit roll was something Christopher brought to us and that seemed to make a lot of sense, because even as a still image it was suggestive of something outside the frame, of something to come,” Rogers commented.

The rebrand allows Revolver’s world class standing to be immediately appreciated. Its awarded work includes Baz Luhrman’s Nicole Kidman epic for Chanel, and advertising productions for Nike, McDonalds, Boags, Nissan, VB, Bupa, Subaru and Devondale.