Founded in Los Angeles and based in Tokyo, Guilty by Association (GBA) is an agency and production studio working across film and brand storytelling. Their clients include Nike, Beats by Dre, Netflix, Lamborghini, LOEWE, the United Nations, Suntory, Adidas and PlayStation.
Lundgren+Lindqvist was commissioned by GBA Studios to design their visual identity and to design and build their website.
In the world of video and media, acronyms and abbreviations are ubiquitous, serving as shorthand and cultural markers. The identity system utilises the contrast between acronym and full form to examine the tension between surface recognition and deeper meaning; highlighting the interplay between teaser and complete discourse.
The identity embraces this linguistic compression: the acronym is presented in its standard orientation, while the full word appears in reverse. The inverted text serves as a subtle yet intentional disruption, a deliberate pause that provokes curiosity.
In a culture driven by instant impressions and fleeting attention, meaning is often assembled from partial cues rather than full understanding. The identity slows this process down, inviting a more deliberate interpretation.
The principle extends to the website, where a blur effect directs attention toward the relevant material and reinforces the identity’s underlying concept of layered meaning.
Continuing on the typographic interplay of the identity, the hover effect on the website features a text transition where the progress of the corresponding video loop is highlighted in the headline.
