An interior architecture practice now has a brand that matches its built work

Challenge

The practice's finished projects were restrained, material-led and good enough for design magazines. Its brand did not say any of that. The logo and type were off the shelf, and its business cards looked like those of every other firm in the city.

The result was that each first meeting began with the work having to make up for the brand.

Clients commissioning high-end homes judge a practice on every detail they see. A forgettable card or a plain letterhead suggests a firm that cuts corners, even when its buildings say the opposite.

Solution

The team approached the identity the way the practice approaches a room: few materials, chosen with care. A serif wordmark that sits well beside architectural drawings, a greyscale palette with a single warm accent so project photographs take the lead, and printed pieces that feel made by hand.

The letterpress cards were a deliberate choice. Printing by pressure leaves a texture a client can feel, which says something about a practice that builds with care before a single drawing is shown. The brand book sets out how the type, colour and voice should be used, so the practice can apply the identity consistently on its own.

• Logo system and monogram
• Letterpress business cards, letterhead and RSVP cards
• Email signature
• Brand book covering type, colour, voice and application
• Stationery for client gifts

Results

In the six months after the new identity launched, the practice won three luxury home commissions and spent 40% less time on the brand part of its first pitch. The brand now makes the first impression the portfolio deserved all along.