Putting the place in place branding

It goes without saying that good place branding should draw from the context of the place itself. But how much this actually comes through in the creative execution of a brand can vary.

A lot of the time this has nothing to do with the designer, but the number of people involved in signing something off. Watered down or unclear ideas are often the result of a design-by-committee approach. An indication that stakeholders are unwilling to take a creative risk, or don’t have the conviction to stand behind one, clear idea. “But it needs to also say this, and THIS should come through too…” is a sure-fire way to create a place brand that’s missing a sense of place.

But we’ve been lucky. The built environment clients we work with recognise the value of bringing meaning to place branding. And they understand that it’s even more important if a place doesn’t exist yet.

When buildings and public spaces are still under construction – and there aren’t any residents to make a community yet – place branding and storytelling have to work hard to capture the imagination. A new place has to build on the cultural heritage and the physicality of the environment in which it’s emerging. And it has to do this authentically.

Here are a couple of projects where this has gone right…

Our work with Cole Waterhouse on their first build-to-rent development in Salford Quays taps into the heritage of the area, while bringing through the personality in their offer.

The name Eda is short for ‘Erie Dock Apartments’ which is itself a combination of ‘Erie Basin’ and ‘Dock Nine’ – the new and historical name of the water it overlooks. We wanted to reference both its industrial past, and the clean-enough-you-can-swim-in-it present.

There were different approaches and a whole load of names on the list that would have allowed us to explore the same idea, but we landed on Eda because it sounded like a person’s name. And personal service should feel like it comes from a person.

The story Cole Waterhouse wanted to tell with their first BTR was one of friendliness, community and ease of living. The name Eda provided opportunities for brand messaging that could represent this offer, like:

‘Your post’s in safe hands with Eda.’

‘Looking for co-working? Hosting a dinner party? Need to hire a car? Just ask Eda.’

We could apply a strong emphasis on community and personable service, without having to rely on just listing amenity after amenity.

And it’s worked. They’ve won awards for their scheme, including ‘BTR Development of the Year’ at the Insider Residential Property Awards.?

A new neighbourhood in Leeds, The Junction sits within an old industrial quarter on a canalside, with shops, cafés, bars and restaurants hosted within a Victorian viaduct.

The brand positioning needed to speak to an audience that wants more – a modern, high-spec apartment with excellent facilities is the BTR expectation.

But what is it like to live there, once you step out of the front door? What’s the actual place like?

“Don’t settle. Live.” was the brand idea for everything to jump off from, with the experience beyond the living room the focus of all comms. We designed the website to feel more editorial (like browsing a culture guide), and shot a film that showed residents working, meeting up, enjoying life – before returning home to a beautiful apartment.

Our client, the BTR operator Native, understood that building a narrative around the neighbourhood (rather than the apartment) would enable a richer brand that would align with the lifestyle of their audience. The Junction opened its doors in January 2023, with residents moving in on the same day, and just over a year later it’s at 73% occupancy.

Another client taking a wider view are Planit. An urban and rural design practice, Planit are a certified B-Corp with an ethos that goes beyond sustainability, towards regenerative design. While this piece of work wasn’t about branding a specific place, in rebranding Planit, we needed to represent how they work in a number of places – how they approach their own placemaking work.

It was a joy to work with a client that not only has strong values, but embeds them within everything they do – the brand work needed to do this justice, supporting and reflecting their principles.

When they said to us, “You can think of us as somewhere between architects and ecologists,” we knew that their identity couldn’t be static – it needed to be ever-changing, natural, and evolving.

The brand statement: ‘We design for the living world. For today, tomorrow and the next 200 years’ was the starting point for an identity that could regenerate itself. Working with Due Studio, we developed a new version of their typeface, coming in the three states of ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘200 years’ – demonstrating how their work is about adapting to (and mitigating the effects of) a changing planet.

Working with clients that understand the value of brand will always lead to something successful, especially in placemaking and built environment. And with Eda, The Junction and Planit, each client was completely behind the power of starting from one, singular creative idea – one that truly communicates a sense of place – whether a building, neighbourhood, or the entire planet.