BRANDING CASE STUDY
Sylvie
Sylvie - a British company set up to design and make the highest quality lighting from sustainably sourced natural timbers and veneers - took its name from the Latin word meaning “from the forest”. The company launched with twelve unique designs suited to both residential and commercial settings. Its core identity required a strong, adaptable mark that could be easily recognised and applied consistently across a wide range of digital and physical surfaces.
The central icon was based on the 'S' character from the typeface Bodoni, designed by Giambattista Bodoni in the late 18th century. The repetition of the central shape signifies the two lives of each light - the first as a living tree; the second via Sylvie.
The roundel represents the cross-section of a tree, with the outer elegantly thin rule signifying one of the tree’s ‘rings of life’.
PRESS PACK
The forest is celebrated at every opportunity as shown on the cover of this press pack, which features leaves from the trees used within the Sylvie collection. It was a natural step to adopt the strapline 'Light from the forest'.
All lights are named after fictional characters or places within a forest setting:
Hansel and Gretel, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Puck, Cobweb, Titania, Oberon and Weaver, Twelfth Night
Robin, Marian and Little John, Robin Hood
Little Hintock and Winterborne, The Woodlanders
WEBSITE
The website brief included a fully functioning
e-commerce system with a wide range of colourway and accessory options, along with multiple delivery functionality plus trade account section.
It had to appeal to both domestic buyers who were perhaps undecided and wanted to browse before committing, alongside trade customers who were decisive and time-poor. At every step, the site needed to communicate the core values of Sylvie.
IDENTITY APPLICATION
Development and application of the identity was extensive and included:
Illustrations with dimensions for specifiers
Translucent product labels in the style of tree tags
Robust sustainable packaging with interior cardboard engineering to ensure safe distribution of all products
All printed marketing material
DIGITAL MARKETING
Communicating the story of Sylvie online focused on craftsmanship, design and sustainability. Essential and reassuringly predictable high-quality photographic images were interspersed with a series of fine art themed light-hearted posts.
Image credit: Oli Green
Social media posts: Vermeer with added veneer lights throughout the house
Magritte with the aptly named 'Cobweb' light in the attic and 'Little John' outside
FILM FROM THE FOREST
In celebration of the natural materials, a forest film was commissioned which involved a large electrical installation in a substantial section of woodland. This communicated the connection between the individual lights and their source in an original setting.
