Category: IDENTITY DESIGN

14
Nov

True North

BRIEF

True North are a new-start organisation who provide advocacy, policy and communications advice to a wide range of companies. We were delighted to be given the opportunity to work with them to create a new brand and identity. They wanted to showcase the dynamic way they work with clients to drive forward change.

SOLUTION

We looked to bring the messages of dynamism and collaborative partnership to life and used nature as our guide. The Patterns from fish tornados making their way through the sea were a real source of inspiration. Our team worked though many creative sketches exploring ways to refine and hone the theme. The final design shows a fish tornado dynamically moving forward, the various colours of the fish were inspired by The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis.)

RESULT

The project was a tremendous success. The new brand has been used extensively by True North in many of their communications, as they launch their new business.

13
Nov

Grand Gates

BRIEF

Grand Gates design, manufacture and install beautiful hand-crafted gates. The company has an exceptional portfolio with a wide range of stunning gate designs, crafted in a variety of fine metals. A long-term client, we were delighted to be given the opportunity to help develop a new identity for the brand which was fresh, modern and showcased the craftsmanship of their work.

SOLUTION

A dream brief, we instantly explored creative ways to showcase the idea of fine craftsmanship with our original sketches and ideas. We honed in on the idea of using a metallic finish for the main concept, and after much exploration, selected a pale gold.

The logo itself was kept simple, with the letters GG being used back-to-back, and the words being written with a modern typeface.  We worked closely with the client to develop the tagline ‘Safety, Security and Style.’ Finally, the pale gold finish was carried through into a complimentary icon set.

The identity was brought to life in a number of ways including with a series of exquisitely crafted business cards from Glasgow Letterpress.

RESULT

A tremendous result.

“We’ve been working with the loft for many years and in that time they have helped us to develop our values, brand our company and assisted with a series of different communications. It’s always a pleasure to work with them and see what magic they will create next. The team is inspiring with their creative talents and how they pull it all together to make sense. Highly recommended.”

Jamie Doak, Managing Director of Grand Gates Ltd

28
Oct

Resolvelock

BRIEF

We were delighted to be given the opportunity to work, again, with our long-standing client Resolvecall. They asked us to create a brand and identity for their new locksmith business & sub-brand Resolvelock.

Resolvelock would offer a fast, responsive and customer-focussed service, to both businesses and consumers. We were asked to create a bold identity, that was both memorable and eye-catching. The brand would be rolled out nationally.

SOLUTION

We explored many different ways to communicate the main ideas – the locksmith service, speed, responsiveness, etc. After a series of concept presentations, we agreed on a dramatised typeface for the logo with a stylised key, to its side, for the brand identity.

The typeface was styled with a heavier font and tightened character spacings. Subtle cues like broken lines were introduced, making the logo appear as if it’s moving while stationary. Finally, the outrageous acid green was placed against a jet black backdrop for greater impact.

RESULT

A sensational result with a memorable brand being created. The identity has made its way onto a fleet of commercial vehicles and a holding-page website, with much more to follow. The loft continues to work with Resolvecall on the rollout of the new brand alongside several other projects.

24
Nov

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce WeeG

BRIEF

The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is at the heart of the Glasgow business community. They have a tremendously committed and driven team who do everything possible to support Glasgow on a local, national and international stage. They represent businesses throughout the city and, as long-term members ourselves, we were thrilled to be approached by Richard Muir, their Deputy CEO, to come up with a new identity for the organisation.

Richard had been telling us for many years of an idea he had for the organisation’s logo – he wanted to create a bold ‘G’ for Glasgow made from illustrations of many of the city’s landmarks.

SOLUTION

Having such a clear brief was an exceptional help, our creative team were able to instantly create eye-catching and visually bold concepts. The structure of the design was brilliantly given to us by Richard, however we wanted to go further to make this identity ‘truly Glasgow.’

We quickly started with all of the famous landmarks of Glasgow – The Kelvingrove Museum, Finnieston Crane, Glasgow University, The Duke Of Wellington Statue, etc, etc. However, instead of slavishly including every landmark we could think of, we mixed our illustrations with classic Glasgow representations – laughter, music, even the famous Glasgow weather. We produced a range of identities based on the Chamber brand colours, including animated versions.

RESULT

The Glasgow WeeG (Weegie is a classic local term to describe Glaswegians,) has been an incredible success – it is widely loved by everybody at the Chamber of Commerce, wider city and beyond.

“I’ve known Benedetto and the loft for the best part of 10 years and they positively brim with innovation, attention to detail and enthusiasm. They have a rare ability to turn creative outputs around very quickly and effectively. They intuitively understands us as clients and have been instrumental in creating one of our key identities and some vital member communications.”

Richard Muir, Deputy CEO of Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce

25
Jul

ATLAS HOTELS

BRIEF

Atlas Hotels are an award-winning hotel operator, with properties in Scotland, England and Wales. Formerly known as Somerston Hotels, they are renowned for delivering a fantastic guest experience.

We were delighted to be given the opportunity to help them create a corporate, but contemporary, brand identity to mark changes in the organisation including their new name. They also wanted to showcase the dynamism, diversity and togetherness of their team.

SOLUTION

We got to know many of the people that worked at Atlas and found that each of the different team members had personality, individuality and a real desire to help others. We also saw a togetherness and a desire to collectively drive the business forward. All ideas that could be built on.

Each of these ideas were explored graphically before deciding to use the image of a colourful shoal of fish, traveling rapidly in the water. All unique in their own way, all swimming together and crucially always in the same direction. A beautiful metaphor for the way the Atlas team works together.

RESULT

Atlas were delighted with the new brand identity which was presented at a special launch to much acclaim.

“From our very first discussions, Benedetto and his team really understood what we wanted to achieve and approached the project with creativity, enthusiasm and professionalism. Despite a tight deadline, they delivered a first rate corporate identity which has been whole-heartedly embraced by our organisation and which represents our corporate culture.”

Lesley-Ann Cardow, Group Marketing Manager of Atlas Hotels

05
May

BRIDGE2BUSINESS

BRIEF

Bridge2Business is new programme introduced by Young Enterprise Scotland. The programme’s goal is to connect, support and inspire young college students into enterprise.

We were delighted to be given the opportunity to create a new brand for Bridge2Business. We were asked to create an identity that would capture the spirit of entrepreneurship and appeal to both the students and the decision-makers of the colleges where the programme would be rolled out.

SOLUTION

We worked closely with the Bridge2Business team to generate ideas that would tell a great story about the new organisation and what they were planning to do. Visual themes were built around words such as inspiration, connections, support, etc.

This led to a brand story of celestial navigation, and in particular the old maritime tale that ‘in times of trouble, the stars will guide you home safely.’ This was particularly relevant as every entrepreneur at one stage of their journey will hit rocky times and just have to rely on that little bit of fortune. The use of the star constellation ‘Nashira’ which symbolises lady-luck gives additional meaning to the message.

RESULT

The brand was launched in the Planetarium of the Glasgow Science Centre where CEO, Geoff Leask, told an audience (looking up at a room full of stars) about Nashira and the brand story we had created together.

“The team at the loft have been an inspiring, creative and friendly team to work with. Listening to our needs and having a real understanding of our audience ensured that their communications solution is absolutely spot on – highly recommended.”

Geoff Leask, CEO of Young Enterprise Scotland

14
Apr

SOCEX

BRIEF

SOCEX (The Serious & Organised Crime Exchange) is a national forum which helps bring the law-enforcement community together. Co-founded by our client ‘Altia Solutions’ and ‘Think Different Events,’ the first conference, historically, hosted three tiers of policing agencies – local, regional and national. We were delighted to be given the opportunity to create all the branding and communications for this new event.

SOLUTION

We wanted to emphasise the historic bringing together of three strands of law enforcement ‘into-alignment’ for the inaugural conference. We designed three circular network graphics of different sizes and combined them with an ‘X’ for ‘Exchange’ to form the main identity. ‘Exchange’ was chosen over ‘conference’ as a more accurate description of the type of event being hosted. The network graphic would become the main creative theme for all of the event communications. Co-Founders, Altia were also hosting the prestigious Keith Hughes Awards and a secondary identity was created for this too.

RESULT

The conference was a huge success. The loft created all marketing communications for SOCEX over the next five years.

“When Altia decided to develop and be the lead sponsor of the ‘SOCEX 2015’ conference and the 10th annual ‘Keith Hughes Awards,’ the loft worked closely with us, and the event management company, to produce the unique branding for each of the events.They delivered excellent work within tight deadlines and the results were commented on very favourably by many of the attendees. The branding is being used for the 2016 events and I have no hesitation in recommending the loft to deliver innovative and interesting designs.”

Ian Watson, Managing Director of Altia Solutions, Chief Sponsors and Founding Partners of SOCEX 

14
Apr

BEEKS FX VPS

BRIEF

Beeks FX VPS manage Virtual Private Servers for automated trading. The company is one of the global leaders, serving brokers who operate in the London Stock Exchange. Their managed ‘VPS’ allows individual traders a quicker, more efficient and reliable solution for transactions.

Beeks were acquiring a New York provider to expand their coverage and their management team wanted to design a new identity, build a new website and we were also asked to create an explainer-video too.

 

SOLUTION

We wanted to showcase all of the company’s strengths with the new identity and this included the use of a dynamic ‘b’ for beeks, creating a continuous loop to show how the service actually works and inserting a hidden ‘map pin’ to highlight one of the significant parts of their offering – brilliant strategic positioning.

The data being fired out of a loop neatly shows the speed of their service and the same visual language is used throughout the explainer video, which has a clean, straight-forward design displaying the service offered by the company in the simplest way possible.

The final explainer video (produced by Alasdair Currie of XYZ Creative) can be seen at https://youtu.be/w5IR25OFW-s>>

RESULT

The project was a tremendous success.

“The loft were instrumental in our re-branding exercise at Beeks FX, as we continue to grow our international business, they went above and beyond when working to a tight deadline. Our team enjoyed working with them, and it was a fun experience; however, threats of free Prosecco have yet to materialise!”

Gordon McArthur, CEO of Beeks FX VPS

14
Apr

THE LEVEN CAR COMPANY

BRIEF

The Leven Car Company is a luxury car retailer specialising in the sales and servicing of high-performance vehicles. The organisation, founded by Hugh and Chris McMahon, were looking to re-define the idea of ‘customer-experience’ in their sector.

Aston Martin and Rolls Royce were the first two franchises adopted by the new company and we were asked to create an identity which ‘would sit comfortably alongside two of the finest automotive brands in the world without looking out of place.’

SOLUTION

We wanted to create a mark that had real meaning – something special. We looked beyond automotive themes to concentrate on the human aspect of the business and service itself. The selected logo idea was a silhouette of several human heads linked together in an infinity loop. A concept which came from Chinese whispers, a simple idea that if you look after one person, they will tell another.

The logo was created alongside a powerful brand statement. ‘The Leven Car Company provides an experience of service that is moulded around the customer, lives long in the memory and is without limits.’ Both were used in many of the company’s brand and marketing communications – most notably with the beautiful business cards manufactured by Glasgow Press.

RESULT

“The loft created a brand identity for The Leven Car Company, one with which we are incredibly proud. The company gave a very personal service, took the time to understand the business, consulted the entire team and they provided us with a top quality design culminating in a brand that sits alongside two of the world’s finest – Aston Martin and Rolls Royce – without looking out of place”

Chris McMahon, Managing Director of The Leven Car Company

14
Apr

ENTERPRISE CAMPUS

BRIEF

Enterprise Campus is a university programme designed to support postgraduate students moving into entrepreneurship after university. The first steps for entrepreneurs can be daunting with many new challenges — finance, marketing, operations, human resources, etc.

Enterprise Campus would provide direction for those ambitious students looking to build the next generation of ‘high-growth businesses.’

The loft was tasked with the creation of a versatile brand identity — one that could be used nationally and then extended regionally for the North, East and West of Scotland.

SOLUTION

We worked closely with different people from the Enterprise Campus team and looked to demonstrate the service they provide for students and their business ideas.

We wanted to get the message across that Enterprise Campus ‘joins the dots’ for budding entrepreneurs and created a logo, which comprises three individual ‘hub’ networks for the individual regions which then come together as one logo for the national brand.

RESULT

The result is a brand identity which reflects a very modern, up-to-date, forward-looking programme.

“Working with the loft was an easy, creative and rewarding experience. This is a key project for us and it was important that the brand represents our values and send a strong message. The whole team were hands-on and enthusiastically took our ideas to the next level. They really took the time to understand our vision and ensure we got what our brand needed. A BIG THANK YOU!”

Sarah Scace, Marketing and Communications Manager for Enterprise Campus