Insight

Behind the design: British Land.

Balancing the heritage of British Land with its modern, forward-thinking future was one of the main challenges. Early sketches and ideas stretched from evolutionary to more radical and inventive. Take it too far, and it could lose its iconic and deeply trusted qualities. Not far enough, and it wouldn’t capture the agility of the business or its bold ambitions for a more inclusive and integrated future for neighbourhoods.

Exploring the expression of the symbol in the studio.

The icon was hiding in plain sight, and once liberated, we were able to give it new meaning and celebrate it in a modern and artistic way. Playing with what it could do, how it could be framed, what we should see through it.

Many ideas that captured the opportunity and potential of the strategy.

‘Campfire’ sessions at the start of the creative phase open up ideas and discussion.

Scalpel, paper and some quick test shots started to prove the idea of using the British Land icon in a simpler, more tactile way to reframe and focus.

Clustering ideas and expression help curate what’s working and what’s not.

Quick tests around the studio prove the approach.

Working out the narrative of the brand story.

Creating a ‘magic archive’ that keeps hold of anything we loved during the process helps us keep hold of the best of the ideas and stops veering into more neutral spaces.

Going back to some original ideas for higher level narrative.

Developing the ways in which the British Land symbol can be active and flexible.

Keeping the shoot simple and agile allowed us to capture lots of expression of the brand in British Land neighbourhoods.

Hands in frame helps to make the images more natural and human scale.