Center Parcs Europe’s rebrand goes back to nature

The green bird and blue type that were the focal point of the holiday brand’s previous identity have been replaced with a softer colour palette and a tree-shaped symbol that DesignStudio says harks back to the company’s mission of reconnecting guests with nature.

Center Parcs Europe – which doesn’t include Center Parcs UK – has 29 holiday destinations across mainland Europe, including Parcs in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium. They offer cottages to stay in as well as a range of  family-focused activities all on site. DesignStudio’s new identity will be rolled out across all of these, with different ‘totems’ used to show the various options at each – for example, a wave for swimming pools, or a pair of palm leaves for the Market Dome, where guests can shop and buy food.

DesignStudio has introduced new typeface Bagoss – made by Displaay Type Foundry – which was chosen for its circular joints and organic terminals, and certainly adds more of a welcoming feel to the branding. Although the focus is on nature, the colour system embraces a nuanced palette, ranging from leafy green and a caramel brown, through to a more vibrant pink and deep blue.

Illustrations by Fuchsia MacAree and photography also helps emphasise this connection with the great outdoors, with shots of tall forests, golden sunsets and misty hills suggesting an enticing experience.

Raise your arches

Credits:
Agency: Leo Burnett
CCO: Chaka Sobhani
ECD: Mark Elwood
Creative Directors: James Millers, Andrew Long
Senior Creative: Gareth Butters
Art Director: Joe Miller
Creative Director of Design: David Allen
Designer: Jakk Breedon
Production Company: Moxie Pictures
Director: Edgar Wright

Thix hair loss brand

Hair loss is big business these days. Given that around 80% of men and 50% of women will experience it in their lives, it’s hardly surprising that the market for products and supplements is booming – to the tune of an estimated $23.6 million globally.

The brand’s visual identity is rooted in the fact that it is “backed by science, not magic”, according to Otherway, the studio behind the new branding. The process began with choosing the brand name itself, which is a combination of the words ‘thick’ and ‘fix’.

Thix’s all-caps wordmark is designed to be unapologetically simple, creating a trusted stamp of authority across what can be a confusing industry for the consumer to navigate.

The rest of the identity is inspired by retro health and beauty packaging from the 70s and 80s, featuring two bold typefaces and a single colour palette of fresh green, referencing the product range’s mint and eucalyptus scent.

Hong Kong food destination Basehall

Since opening in 2020, Basehall has become a hotspot for hungry Hong Kong residents and visitors. So much so that parent company, HongKongLand Properties, recently unveiled a second, larger site in the same building which brings together 13 independent food and drink concepts.

To coincide with its opening, London-based studio Otherway was tasked with rethinking what an East Asian food hall could look like and positioning Basehall as a cultural destination.

The new branding is inspired by Hong Kong’s visual history, featuring a dynamic logo that nods to the city’s ubiquitous street signs and is described by Otherway’s founder.

The design language is built on a grid system which visualises the various layers coming together to create a tapestry, with each restaurant given a unique identity that pays homage to a signature dish or the owners themselves.

Otherway commissioned five illustrators to bring all the individual identities to life. “We wanted to create an area where every vendor had an equal chance of standing out compared to more established food brands. From 60-year-old roast goose shops, to brand new Michelin starred experiences,” says the studio.

otherway.com

New look for Wok to Walk

Wok to Walk began life in 2004 as a tiny restaurant in Amsterdam, inspired by the founders’ travels around Asia. Fast forward to today, and it’s a global food brand with over 100 sites in 20 countries.

Inspired by this ancient form of cooking, the new logo features a wok with a lightning bolt in the middle, which doubles as a signature W. Building on the dynamic mark, Without created a suite of patterns that sit across uniforms, takeaway bags and typographic posters.

A refreshed colour palette introduces new gradients inspired by the cinematography of Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. Meanwhile, a new photography style and art direction seek to translate the colours, flavours and emotion of Chinese street food, instead of falling back on tired clichés.

The brand’s renewed emphasis on copywriting also focuses on food quality, seasonal recipes and ingredients, rather than price or meal deals. In this vein, the chefs – who attend circus school as part of their training – have been renamed as Woksmiths to highlight their cooking credentials.

Sainsbury’s festive fairytale ad

Credits:
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy London
Creative Directors: Freddy Taylor & Philippa Beaumont, Juan Sevilla & Joe de Souza
Executive Creative Director: Susan Hoffman
Agency Artworker: David Brodie
Design Directors: Phil Rosier, Alex Thursby-Pelham
Designer: Emma Cope
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Tim Godsall
Editorial Company: Final Cut
VFX Company: Time Based Arts

Monzo reveals cheery brand refresh

Launched in 2015, Monzo is heralded for breaking the curse of dry, corporate brands in the personal banking sector. Its uplifting colours, down-to-earth voice and intuitive experience marked a clean break with the traditional banks, winning over a generation of millennials and beyond.

The new identity centres on the coral hue that made Monzo stand out in the first place, supported by ‘deep navy’ and ‘soft white’, and a wider secondary palette. Colours have been dialled up in the M logomark, which will be rolled out in touchpoints such as the app icon, though the shape of the logomark remains unchanged.

In terms of typography, the friendly, rounded Oldschool Grotesk was chosen as the display typeface, while a custom version of Universal Sans – Monzo Sans – will be used as the primary typeface for functional purposes.

A “warmer” approach has similarly been taken to the art direction and brand photography, as well as a suite of illustrations created by Ola Dobrzyńska.

Least favourite fish gets a rebrand

Ever heard of Patagonian toothfish? Slimehead? Peekytoe crab? All of these none-too-delicious-sounding fish have been the subjects of successful rebranding campaigns, becoming Chilean sea bass, Orange roughy, and mud crab, in a bid to get people eating them.

Chicago-based practice Span Studio is hoping it can work some similar magic on Asian Carp – an invented, catch-all name for various types of carp which escaped from fish farm retention ponds in the 1970s, and have since taken over the Illinois River. The fish have impacted biodiversity and ecosystems, and there are fears they will go on to damage America’s Great Lakes.

The logo appears on a set of concept packaging designs, which envision how Copi might be sold – all emphasising the locally caught aspect. The ‘Eat well, do good’ tagline is the final element, with the rebrand designed to get people buying the fish at the supermarket, or ordering it from restaurant menus.

Wolff Olins identity for DailyPay

First revealed last May, the updated identity revolves around the idea that DailyPay is “flipping the system” with regards to acccessing earnings. It’s reflected in a symbol that doubles as a sun peeking behind the horizon and a coin dropping into a slot. The two interpretations are joined together in an animated execution, in which the sun motif flips over to reveal the coin.

The colour palette has been updated from light blue to a sunny orange, and a new custom typeface has also been introduced. The type design, called Horizon, evokes the main symbol through the elongated serifs, exaggerated hooks and the full stop.

Huch “relaxed luxury” branding

The studio was briefed to name and brand Huch, which will offer a collection of cabins in the Australian countryside, all intended to reconnect visitors with nature and offer “relaxed luxury in the wilderness”.

Each space is designed to offer the comfort of a hotel room, but without creating a negative impact on the environment – something Christopher Doyle & Co wanted to reflect in the Huch identity.

The brand revolves around the Huch wordmark, which incorporates the form of a classic pitched-roof cabin inside the H – a shape that’s also used as a frame for photography.

This, paired with a sans serif typeface, and a colour palette of warm reds, sunny yellows, and foresty blues and greens creates a welcoming feeling to the branding.