11 brands we designed meaningful change for in 2021

2021 was an incredibly busy year in our studio. From new faces to new projects and group Teams calls to get-togethers, it’s fair to say there hasn’t been a dull moment. As the final few weeks of 2021 fade into a brand-new year with fresh surprises in store, we’re looking back on just some of the projects that we designed meaningful change for this year. And, if you have a strategy or branding project in mind for 2022, contact us at hello@richardsdee.com and you could find yourself on our list this time next year! 

01 — Indigo

With Indigo Telecoms Group’s acquisition of our previous client 4site, we collaborated with the teams to define, design, and implement a strategic new brand built for the future of communication. By evolving the name to simply Indigo and the positioning to ‘Engineering a Digital Future’, as well as crafting an identity reflecting the new company’s three core offerings, a colour palette reflecting and complementing their name, a digital stream representing a future of limitless possibilities, and a brand voice and messaging deeply rooted in their core values, we helped set Indigo on their path to accelerating their growth strategy.

02 — Reitigh

2021 also saw us win new clients such as Reitigh, one of Ireland’s leading software companies solving the most complex processing challenges in financial services for banking, investment, and insurance enterprises. We worked closely with their leadership team to devise a unique  set of values, a brand purpose, and a compelling promise as well as a strong design system and laser-focused messaging that brought their approach of ‘Always Simplifying’ to life. Plus, in the spirit of the festive season, we were even nominated for an ICAD Bell for our work! View more work here →

03 — Kerry

This year we helped Kerry look Beyond the Horizon with their stunning new pattern. Built in four layers to reflect Kerry’s From Food, For Food heritage, their strength in people, their  unrivalled capacity for innovation, and their promise to reach over 2 billion people with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030, the new hand-illustrated pattern brings their brand to life in miniature wherever it’s used. View more work here →

04 — MII

One of our biggest projects of 2021 was our rebrand of MII. Building on the brand strategy developed by Genesis, we delivered a revitalised visual and verbal identity system across the MII brand from the mark to a suite of impactful typefaces and the website to event naming. By amplifying MII’s role as the voice of authority for marketing in Ireland and an accelerator of marketing talent, we equipped the team with a brand that evokes their limitless ambition and radiates confidence. Read our full case study here →

05 — HOHR

2021 saw us appointed as Brand Partners to the Leadership team at the €1.6bn entrepreneurial powerhouse House of HR. Our challenge was to redevelop the Purpose, Vision, Mission and Values and crystalise these into a powerful creative strategy and identity system. Our solution was a rebellious and powerful system connected deeply to the brand we had defined previously, setting House of HR up for a bold and impactful future. Read our full case study here →.

06 — St. Vincent’s

For the third year running we produced St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group’s annual report. Designed around the theme of ‘Next Steps: Towards the Future of Healthcare’, we collaborated closely with the team at St. Vincent’s to deliver artwork and final layout for 2020’s report. 

07 — Fáilte Ireland

2021 also saw us refresh the brand identity of Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s national tourism authority. Building on the strength of the iconic shamrock, we imbued the revitalised logo with a sense of authority by reaching back to the classic identity born in the 1960s, as well as modernised the identity by refreshing the typeface, harmonising the colours with Fáilte Ireland’s regional brands, and reversing the mark from a negative shape (white) to a positive shape (green). Rich in storytelling, the new logo asserts Fáilte Ireland’s role as the trusted shaper of the tourism industry in Ireland. View more work here →

08 — Energia

2021 marked another busy year with one of our closest clients, Energia. As their longstanding brand partners, this year we collaborated on a range of exciting projects that unifies their brand experience across all channels and underpinning their mission. We have a number of interesting Energia projects on the go in our studio for 2022 in what will be a challenging start of the year for the energy sector.. View more work here →

09 — Irish Water

2021 also saw a stunning new photography project take off with our friends at Irish Water. Together, we embarked on a project to update Irish Water’s image bank to capture the scale and breadth of their investment in Ireland’s water infrastructure. In 11 days, across 28 locations around Ireland, we collaborated with photographer Keith Arkins to capture aerial and ground photography that visually evoked Irish Water’s national status from coast to coast.

10 — Childline

Just over a year ago, we won one of the most meaningful rebrands of 2021 – ISPCC Childline. Selected as brand partners to Ireland’s largest children’s charity, the past year saw us enter the worlds of children and ISPCC Childline teams across Ireland through workshops to discover how we could help ISPCC and their service Childline reclaim their roles as children’s advocates and allies. By crafting a visual and verbal identity deeply rooted in the vernacular of children while clarifying the relationship between the brands, ISPCC and Childline are established as the definitive destinations for resilience and support for generations of children to come.

11 — Studio Photoshoot

Earlier this year when we had the chance to safely – if briefly! – get back into the office, we took the opportunity to refresh our RichardsDee photography with the brilliant Josh Mulholland. Check out our sweet O’Connell Street space and the wonderful faces new and familiar that make it such a meaningful place to be. All it’s missing is a Christmas tree!

Mind Over Matter

Did you know that creatives are 25% more likely to suffer from a mental health issue in their lifetime, or that now, 1 in 10 people in Ireland are affected by depression?

Creating a stronger design community means facing these issues, putting a spotlight on mental health and how we deal with it as colleagues and agency principals.

It is our responsibility as a community to support each other which is why we are proud to give our time for Mind Over Matter on November 2nd, a national day of design in aid of mental health. The day is dependent on the design community giving their time, and businesses engaging and paying a fee that is donated directly to Aware.

How it works
For a fee of €60 anyone from an established business to a start-up or an entrepreneur can book a consultation hour with a designer. The fee goes straight to Aware, while during the hour you will find innovative solutions and discover new opportunities, while raising money for a great cause in your region.

We are delighted that three of our team are volunteering their services on the day

Why talk to a designer?
Designers are natural problem solvers who make it their business to be on the pulse of international design practices and thinking. It’s their dedication to innovation and creativity that translates into added value for your business, whether that’s through branding, production, user experience or manufacturing.

By embracing design it has been proven time and time again to add value to your business in ways that can end up creating competitive advantage and improving your bottom line.

Where
Two locations in Dublin and locations in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Tullamore, Dundalk and Kilkenny. Check out the Mind Over Matter website to find a venue close to you

Dublin Sightseeing Rebrand

Challenge

Dublin Sightseeing has a great product portfolio and a solid reputation for providing tours and travel services in and around Dublin. However, the market has become more competitive, audiences purchasing behaviours are changing, and Dublin Sightseeing’s image had become fragmented and did not reflect either the quality of the product or the level of experience provided. While known and identified as the Green Bus, the brand, its key point of difference and its portfolio of tours and associated services were not well known.

DoD_Image3DoD_Image4

Through a process of staff engagement, competitive benchmarking and customer research, we clearly identified and built on the strengths of the business and established the direction, which would lead to a more competitive and confident positioning and visual expression for the brand and its portfolio of products.

DoD_Image10

The challenge was to relook at the brand and how it engages with its many audiences, helping to grow market share, and regain its position as the “authentic Dublin” sightseeing company. We also needed to leverage the positive experience of the ‘Green bus city tour’ across the entire portfolio and clearly communicate the different tours and services on offer. An essential part of the process was ensuring that the brand and products were future proofed and could adapt to accommodate changes in technology, visitor expectations and possible category extensions, highlighting the need to challenge the naming and presentation of the brand.

DoD_Image_6
Insight

Aligning with Destination Brand Dublin, the two key audience segments for Dublin Sightseeing are the Social Energisers and Culturally Curious, who are seeking experiences that provide a real sense of place, along with an insightful and entertaining experience. It was important for us to show that Dublin Sightseeing is not a faceless multinational, but a team passionate and proud of their city and eager to share that with the world. Building on the company’s core USP – the best and most knowledgable drivers and guides in the city, and the inimitable Dublin personality, combined with our audience’s desire for fun, authentic experiences, we defined the positioning as “the Dubliners Guide to Dublin”.

DoD_Image6

The name of the brand needed to change to become more active, iconic and memorable – less about a generic sightseeing service, and more about what it can enable travellers to do. The name DoDublin emerged as a clear favourite from the naming process, and resonated well with local and international audiences when tested.

DoD_Image7

Opportunity

Our opportunity lay in creating a brand that could house a wide portfolio of distinct but related products that would be the authority on all transport and guided tours for national and international visitors alike. A confident masterbrand approach provides credibility, confidence and makes the most of all cross-selling opportunities, enabling the brand to maximise marketing efficiencies. It also establishes a brand architecture that is simple and strong, delivering impact and establishing a family style for all products.

DoD_Image8

The new identity created with Dublin, travel and sightseeing at its core – is visually represented by a ‘D’ with the symbol of an eye and a travel route combined.

Our tagline, ‘Don’t just sightsee, explore’ repositions DoDublin versus their competitors and speaks directly to visitors’ desire to get under the skin of the city they are visiting. The visual expression and messaging provides a distinct insight into the city, the culture and the people providing an experience that is real, unique and never scripted.

 

Revisiting the past for gifting inspiration

Bewley’s has a long and proud association supporting Irish artists and recently appointed Irish illustrator and pattern designer, Paula McGloin to develop illustrations that could be used across a brand new Bewley’s limited edition coffee mug and gift set. The illustration draws inspiration from the exquisite Harry Clarke stained glass windows in the Grafton Street Cafe which features lavish details of oriental birds and decorative flowers. Paula used these references as the basis for her illustration to create an intricate pattern of teapots, cups, cup cakes, oriental fans, birds and butterflies.

As Bewley’s brand partners, we worked from the outset with Paula to develop the packaging and activations materials for launch and are looking forward to seeing it in store very soon.

Paula McGloin Limited Edition Mugs
Paula McGloin Limited Edition Mugs

Paula McGloin
Paula McGloin

 

Paula McGloin Instore Activation