It’s not always the case, but sometimes clients can bring us a truly amazing set of ideas, and the job of refining and visualising them is a pure and absolute joy. 

Having seen our work on Graphic-Exchange, Malik from Sankoré, a newly formed lobbying firm in South Africa, contacted us to discuss bringing his vision to life. The brand story captured our imagination from the very start. Sankoré (which means “people of knowledge”) was formed by a senior member of one of Africa’s most powerful traditional dynasties and Malik Dechambenoit, a younger, french/african/spanish/english speaking political adviser with 10 years experience as a UN negotiator on the battle fields and in the board rooms of Africa. Working with African heads of state, the firm has launched to promote good governance and help Africa seize the moment, as it emerges onto the world stage as a new global powerhouse.

To embody our clients deep cultural connection to their African homeland of Timbuktu, in harmony with their truly modern, global, progressive world view, the identity had to be an authentic, cultural fusion. As the face of the business, we talked at length with Malik about his personal style, which included tailored suits and bespoke accessories, so we internally set ourselves the challenge that any brand we produce must be subtle and refined enough to work as an insignia on a set of cuff links that he would enjoy wearing. He presents himself as low key, diplomatic and sharp and he also gave as the reference of the afropolitan (read article here). We had plenty to work with.

The creative journey first explored a stylised monogram “s”, which through refinement, evolved to encapsulate the essence of an agadez cross, an ancient African symbol that represents protection and divinity. People of Muslim faith believe the arms of the cross disperse all evil from the individual, whilst our client sees it as a symbol of leadership, optimism and tradition.

The final typography we settled on was customised Gotham, which through it’s uniform spacing and clean, accessible letterforms helped personify the modern democratic values we were trying to evoke. As is often the case, when so much work goes into the concept and refinement of the identity, print and online application centered on showcasing the mark the most refined and elegant way possible.

Our thanks go to Malik and the Sankoré team for making this project possible and for sharing their many insights into the cultural and political landscape of Africa along the way.