Co-workspace Branding & Website Design

Fable&Co. were delighted to develop a unique brand proposition & identity for a new, high calibre co-working community in Brighton.

Our journey began with extensive research, from interviews, focus groups & workshops with our discerning target audience, to visiting over 15 of the UK’s most progressive, inspiring & established co-working spaces.

Following the comprehensive research, a unique brand strategy was forged, ensuring the proposition established a strong emotional connection with the audience, along with addressing the importance of the customer’s practical, everyday co-working needs.

Our community will house an array of formidable creatives, ambitious tech entrepreneurs & enterprising startups. It will offer a new level of quality & elegance to the South Coast’s thriving co-working scene.

Our enterprising, collaborative community was aptly named, ‘The Projects’ – inspired & influenced by the type of work that our members will be responsible for delivering. ‘The Projects’ ignites imaginative & experimental notions of creativity, delivered through teamwork & ambition. A place of composure, tranquillity & creativity – where great minds meet, ideas are shared – encouraging beautiful things to happen by working together.

Defying Convention

Brighton is commonly regarded as a highly creative & eclectic city. Locals & visitors alike are passionate about preserving the culture of this unique seafront metropolis.

Brighton offers a rich historical legacy, which is evident as you explore this beautiful city – vintage styling & bohemian character transcends throughout.

‘The Projects’ is located on the historical Ship Street, nestled between the upmarket Hotel Du Vin & the recently refurbished Walrus Pub – just a stone’s throw from the enchanting allure of the seafront.

The Bygone Era

Set across an elegant three-story regency townhouse, the space has been diligently crafted by local designers, artists & architects, restoring the impressive 17th Century features. Whilst the exterior brickwork tells tales of a bygone era, inside these walls lies home to Brighton’s new wave of illustrious avant-guard.

The historical significance of the local area featured heavily when crafting ‘The Projects’ brand identity.

The Visual Positioning

Our comprehensive research phase had highlighted a need to significantly differentiate ‘The Projects’ brand identity from it’s many competitors, both locally & further afield.

It was also important to ensure the brand identity would complement the impressive 17th Century building, along with aligning the unique personality, tone, charm & charisma of Brighton & Hove.

The team at Fable&Co. started by entering the captivating world of surrealism & eccentric vintage art.

We set about devising our own abstract interpretations of what co-working represents, through the somewhat irrational juxtaposition of images.

The historical significance of the local area featured heavily when crafting ‘The Projects’ brand identity.

The Mesmerising Display

At dusk, the sight of thousands of starlings swirling & swooping together over Brighton’s seafront is a sight to behold.

This incredible ‘murmuration’ produces a mesmerising display of unison, creating beautiful, natural shapes & forms. This daily ritual is more than just a stunning demonstration of agility.

The starlings congregate in this way to share important information & advice about feeding & nesting locations, as well as to stay safe from predators.

This narrative formed the basis of ‘The Projects’ brand campaign: “Beautiful things happen when we work together.”

Encouraging freelancers, startups & small businesses to collaborate – sharing expertise & insights, to inspire one another thus increasing efficiencies.

Project Deliverables

Research
Brand Strategy
Brand Positioning
Naming
Logo Design
Brand Identity
Messaging & Copywriting
Photography
Corporate Stationery Design
Marketing & Advertising
Interior Design
Motion Graphics
Responsive Website Design & Development
Project Management

The Identity

The unifying of characterful vintage images & versatile murmurations enabled us to create an iconic suite of surreal artworks, which abstractly illustrate the core proposition, ‘Beautiful things happen when we work together’.

Through the creation of compelling art, with strategic narrative, we were able to communicate on an emotional level with our highly creative & inquisitive audience.

The stacked lettering used for the wordmark was inspired by the individual talents of the community members coming together, working in collaboration.

The Projects’ round icon features hidden letters set within a simple, stylish, yet highly abstract monogram.

The muted gold was selected to add a subtle degree of superiority, influenced by the hues of aged gold & brass antique collectables.

The Online Experience

The role of ‘The Projects’ highly functional website was to support the business throughout all aspects of the membership journey.

To achieve this, the website was seamlessly integrated with an advanced management platform, one that gave ‘The Projects’ team ownership of data & control of all operations. From marketing, lead generation & membership sign-up, all the way through to payments, meeting room booking system & detailed analytics & reporting.

The website also features a store, where both members & non-members alike can purchase quality items from a range of branded merchandise.

A dedicated app is also available to all our members, where they can take advantage of instant messaging & posting jobs, viewed by other members of their community – encouraging beautiful things to happen by working together.

Attention To Detail

The foundations of ‘The Projects’ identity now set, we considered ideas for a highly effective & creative brand launch strategy.

Animated social content was conceptualised & crafted, to be used throughout an inspiring pre-launch campaign.

Brand partnerships with an array of relevant local businesses, helped further promote & demonstrate the narrative of ‘beautiful things happen when we work together’.

The identity was then consistently applied to interior graphics & signage, website & digital applications, through to print marketing materials & quality branded merchandise.

Managing The Brand

A comprehensive brand style guide was created, not only to ensure that the brand identity would be applied consistently, but also to inspire & educate employees as to the vision & the unique proposition & personality of The Projects.

A hard copy of this extensive, leather bound presentation book can be admired by visitors, whilst waiting within the reception area.

Branding a co-working community has always been an ambition of ours as an agency. We embarked on this exciting challenge back in 2017. Starting with naming, brand positioning, brand identity & the application to a vast host of unique project deliverables. It was important for us to create an identity that would stand out, as well as stand the test of time. Something that would complement the building, the audience & the local area. It has been a truly collaborative process, between everyone involved – demonstrating that ‘beautiful things really do happen when we work together’.

– Ross Davison, Creative Director, Fable&Co.

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