Image Credit : Damian Miranda
Project Overview
Avoiding a manufactured marketing approach, we took a black and white look at the world with our Monohaus branding. Capturing the colourful characters of Hackney in all their authentic glory. Real people, real words, real life branding.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Matt Partis - Creative Director
Kari Smith - Creative Lead
Dan Allan - Creative
Joshua Channon - Account Executive
Paul Howard - Head of Production
Mark Whiteway - Managing Director
Project Brief
We built monohaus on local stories of love lost, warehouse secrets and bygone hidden venues. Authenticity and consistency were integral. So with a brand that hit all the right notes with young creatives, it was time to show them what they could be a part of.
Branding the development’s marketing suite presented us with a golden opportunity to showcase the brand’s versatility and boldly bring our approach off the page – and into life. The idea was to turn the rich portraits and stories we’d collected from Hackney into a celebratory exhibition. So it was only right we doffed our cap to the real people who formed the cornerstone of the brand by proudly displaying their names at the entrance.
We took a bespoke approach to fitting the suite, crafting every element on show from the four walls to floor vinyl to coffee cups. The table centre piece displayed the brochure’s lifestyle map and the local haunts. Portraits, illuminated with spotlights and propped against solid handmade wooden stands were enlarged and moveable, inviting viewers to interact with the space and sift through the layers of stunning imagery to get an instant flavour of London Fields.
Project Innovation/Need
The monochrome property and high-spec apartments were envisioned as ‘a blank canvas where everything is black and white’. We created a brand that matched this vision – Monohaus – allowing Hackney’s character, to add the colour.
Instead of glossy pages and a lifestyle shoot devoid of any real life, we took to the streets to get to know the people and places of Hackney. Armed with just a camera and a Dictaphone, we spoke to local musicians, pop-up barbers, flower stall owners, baristas, artists, and artisans. All had their own unique tales to tell. A creative cacophony of characters that make the area what it is, and attracts others who want to live there.
Avoiding over describing the development, we let the lifestyle we had captured speak for place. The portraits took center stage, accompanied by their own stories - raw and unedited - across all brand touchpoints. Shooting entirely in monochrome allowed us to capture this authentic side to Hackney, one an open minded audience would want to be a part of.
Bringing this approach to life, we also created an immersive marketing suite, combining the photography with the original recorded conversations. Visitors experienced the stories of Hackney as we first discovered them – unfiltered, honest.
Design Challenge
Tired of a monolithic marketing approach, Union Developments asked us to create a brand that would stand apart from neighbouring developments, and change people’s perceptions of what a Hackney property development could be. So we decided to celebrate all that makes Hackney a unique, vibrant, place to live - the characters, cultures, and communities that call the borough home.
The high-spec design apartments were envisioned as ‘a blank canvas where everything is black and white’. So we made a brand to match – “monohaus” – a monochrome lens, letting Hackney’s colourful charm shine through
Getting to know the local people and places was integral to developing an authentic portrayal of Hackney. We shot on location, around Broadway Market and London Fields, gathering the images and stories of the local musicians, pop-up barbers, flower stall owners, baristas, artists, and artisans. A creative cacophony of characters that make the area what it is, and attracts others who want to live there.
Effectiveness
The people of Hackneys black and white portraits took centre stage across all brand touch points, with direct quotes of timeless tales distinct to Hackney featuring prominently across print and online media. We wanted the lifestyle we had captured to speak for itself, producing a brand Hackney’s young creatives would want to be a part of.
Bringing this approach to life, we also created an immersive marketing suite, combining photography with the recorded interviews of our subjects. Visitors experienced Hackney as we had – through the voices and stories of the people who call it home, building engagement
both on and offline. The results spoke for themselves, with the majority of the apartments sold before even being put on the market.
Graphic Design - Identity and Branding
This award celebrates creative and innovative design in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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