The transformation of a massive manufacturing building into a combination storefront and creative/tech office space required a rebrand that could bridge past and present. Iconic furniture-maker Heal’s had made the building a London landmark, and it will continue to operate a store here. But the rest of the building will be converted into an incubator for creative thinking.
DNCO has created an expansive new identity system—including the structure’s new name—for The Manufactory. As part of the new identity, designers brought to life Heal’s bronze cat, a company mascot that has long sat in the building’s stairwell. The cat’s silent presence and antics inject personality and fluidity into the identity for a very solid, static building.
From the DNCO website: “This will be home to London’s next generation of entrepreneurs: tech and creative businesses seeking spaces that are full of character and rich in story. Our positioning work crystallized this appeal into the strapline ‘Crafting the work of tomorrow’. Taking an old Victorian word for factory with the name ‘The Manufactory,’ we honor the building’s past, convey its scale today and evolve this heritage for the future.”