FROM THE ARCHIVES

We are busy with the ultimate spring clean! Reviewing our archive and updating our files is a labour of love, remembering favourite projects and updating them with new images of the brand in action. We thought we’d share some of our past work with you and a few of the stories behind our most recognised projects.

Nearly ten years ago we were tasked with creating a new brand identity for Claridge’s the iconic hotel in the heart of London's Mayfair. In-fact the scope included brand strategy, identity, communications palette and branded applications for everything from the hotel's website to its slippers.

The challenge was to create an identity the old guard would accept and a new generation of bright young things would be drawn to. The project was the starting point for an exceptional investment in the property which would extend to refurbishment of rooms and suites, additional facilities and services and new high profile partnerships.

It marked the beginning of an eight year partnership between Construct and Claridge's to create the brand identity and communications Claridge’s deserved, an identity that would feel like it had been there forever and herald a dynamic future in the true spirit of the brand.

Perhaps the most important part of our work was the research we undertook to understand the history and purpose of the brand, the identification the spirit that inspired Alex James to write ’To wake up at Claridge’s is to wake up invincible’. Magical, timeless, elegant and magnetic, we knew the brand would need to effortlessly reference the past and confidently place Claridge’s at the heart of modern London.

The identity reclaimed the original Claridge family crest, refining it as a simplified icon suitable for the most challenging application. This was paired with a confident word marque with elegant proportions and an unexpected extended ‘R’. The logotype is supported by a rich and layered brand palette of colour and pattern designed to allow for sensitive flex in application from high impact items like flags and carrier bags to more subtle ‘de-branded’ use in the most intimate touch-points in the rooms and suites. This clever architecture of application ensures the branding feels anything but corporate. Consistent yet sensitive, the resulting applications are sprinkled across the property as experiences waiting to be discovered by the hotel's guests.

'To wake up at Claridge’s is to wake up invincible.'
Magical, timeless, elegant and magnetic, we knew the brand would need to effortlessly reference the past and confidently place Claridge’s at the heart of modern London.

The Claridge’s jade green was inspired by one of the remaining original suite bathrooms, with tiles dating from the 1930's a colour with both energy and refinement; the exact tone took three days of print tests to settle upon. Contrasted with bold patterns drawn from the architectural heritage of the building, from the Edwardian to the Art Deco and used in bold monochrome.

Perhaps the most successful items were those we were never asked to create; those ideas that spring from a genuine passion for a project and a desire to deliver above and beyond brief. The now iconic rocking horse, Christmas puddings, Easter eggs, children's games and more, have become branded short hand for the exceptional experience guests enjoy in this great hotel.

This is an identity built to last and designed to look like it’s always belonged.