Does anyone remember Dirty Sanchez? Unfortunately, I do. For the (lucky) uninitiated amongst us, it was essentially a Welsh reading of Jackass. In other words, it featured man-children degrading themselves via a series of increasingly bizarre stunts for the amusement of teenage boys and sadists.
Joyce Division specialises in aerial video, time lapse and light painting
We all have to grow up sometime though, and former Sanchez member Dan Joyce has done just that, channeling his talents into the quite cleverly named “Joyce Division.” Joyce Division is not (sadly) a female-fronted Joy Division cover band (though you would certainly be forgiven for thinking otherwise), but is actually a collective of commercial film artists who specialise in aerial video, time lapse and light painting. The company has been quite a surprise success, receiving a host of commissions to work on street culture, fashion and media productions.
Joyce Division recently tasked design agency Afterhours with crafting a fresh brand identity
The company recently tasked the design agency Afterhours with crafting a fresh brand identity, which reflects Joyce's “Life hack” approach, and the “Playful, eclectic” aesthetic featured in his films. The logo has been built from the iconic stop, pause, play and record icons, and has already been used in a variety of inventive ways, with the symbols made up of everything from parts of a camera to a full English breakfast. It can also be easily reconfigured to work in social media promotions, T-shirts and more.
Joyce Division – Timelapse Showreel
The identity even filters down to the company's invoices, which are printed on neon pink paper and are wrapped in a plastic pouch. The invoices quite frankly state “Love working with you,” and “Hate to ask, but pay up,” with the icons subtly worked into the typeface and mirroring a tattoo Joyce acquired during his stint on MTV. Even the business cards have been given a unique treatment; they come in sets of 52 and are packaged as a set of playing cards, with the four suits built around the four icons and Joyce himself as the joker. Images included in the 'deck' include original illustrations from artists Pete Fowler and Jimi Mackay and some of the man himself's own “Prizes possessions.”
The logo has been built from the iconic stop, pause, play and record icons
Afterhours have also capitalised on Joyce's existing social media presence (which he no doubt accumulated due to his televisual fame) with a range of bespoke shirts, each of which come packaged in a “TV” box, with remote control TV tags and a manual that mimics the kind of patronising instructions you receive with a new media device. It's incredibly clever, relevant and iconoclastic, which are words I honestly never thought I'd be associating with a member of the Dirty Sanchez crew. But then, people always have the capacity to surprise you.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He once sat through the Dirty Sanchez movie whilst intoxicated and in the company of a former girlfriend. It was (almost) the most uncomfortable 90 minutes of his life.
