Contemporary art collector Linda Pace (1945-2007) once dreamed of a gleaming ruby city, now dimensionalized in her foundation’s David Adjaye-designed building that opened to the public October 2019 in San Antonio. 2x4 partnered with the contemporary art organization to collaborate on positioning, strategy, and identity work coinciding with the building’s construction and anticipated world-wide attention.
2x4’s strategy and branding work captured the foundation’s singular spirit and eclectic collection that engages with feminism, identity, beauty, and spirituality. We designed a colorful type-based identity system comprised of a custom, chiseled font that plays off the faceted angles of the building, and incorporates images from the collection. To integrate each of Ruby City’s public spaces we created a campus-wide naming strategy that coheres the relationship among the red building, nearby Chris Park, and Studio, a small gallery space. Working in collaboration with Adjaye Associates, we designed a naming wall with sandblasted letterforms that reveal the material’s rough aggregate within.
