Gunwharf Quays’ brand sails across the coastline in minimal colours

In order to reposition Portsmouth’s iconic Gunwharf Quays as a must-visit destination for customers and tourists, UK-based property group Landsec has turned to BrandCap to craft a compelling visual identity. The brand consultancy has wrapped an experiential brand inspired to the marina, developing a strategy based on hospitality and positivity.

Following yearly increases in overall retail sales, Gunwharf Quays needed to fuel its growth to attract more prospective customers into its historical venues. With over 90 brands on the coastline, the retail outlet looked for a rebirth and a general refresh of its end customers’ experience. Looking at the sails and colours of the marina, BrandCap has designed a brand strategy focused on experience and emotional engagement, giving Gunwharf Quays a refreshed, minimal identity grounded on the place it represents.

BrandCap’s identity draws from a physical location to wrap an experiential brand, moving people and their emotions to the core of Gunwharf Quays’ new face. It evokes the feelings visitors experience when shopping at the Quays, such as admiring the coastline from afar or indulging in a day of shopping. The brand targets tourists and Portsmouth’s locals alike, by suggesting an escapade from the city life through a walk on the coastline.

The brand employs light shades of ocean blue, sea kelp green and coral reef pink to recall the marina, with a sail-inspired minimal logotype made of Gunwharf Quays’ initials. The empty spaces in the logo’s letters are then employed to intertwine with people and objects across several promotional assets, such as posters, banners and billboards. The identity includes a number of other applications, such as Instagram and social media designs, paper bags, umbrellas and more.

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