ArthurSteenHorneAdamson

Ashburton

After introducing new innovative products, investment managers – Ashburton felt their brand no longer reflected the breadth of their offer, or their innovative and creative approach. ASHA identified ‘Insightful’ as the new brand positioning and this formed the foundations of their creative strategy for the new corporate identity. Imagery and animation forms a core part of the identity and is used to convey study and thought, together the ability to create something unique out of standard component parts.
A full corporate identity system was delivered – spanning across the website, press advertising, literature system, tone of voice, brand architecture system, signage and events.

The clarity around Ashburton’s positioning has helped them in transitioning their business from a ‘direct’ to ‘brokered’ business. They have created new partnerships, and have increased market share through the turmoil of the past few years.

What we did:
Brand Strategy
Brand Positioning
Brand Identity
Illustration
Animation
Photography
Signage
Internal Communications
Literature
Advertising
Website Design
Merchandising
Promotions

A core part of the identity was built around the use of juxtaposing traditional and modern imagery. We developed two philosophies for guiding the selection and use of imagery: ‘The study of’ and ‘the way we see things’. ‘The study of’ route uses timeless, beautiful and detailed black and white imagery to communicate real thought and study around a subject. ‘The way we see things’ route takes everyday office objects, and combines them in interesting ways to create beautiful and unusual illustrations.

The way we see things

These illustrations communicate the fact that although Ashburton uses the same component parts as any other investment house, they are able to create unique funds. The animations we created of these illustrations have been awarded gold in the 2011 Graphis Design Annual, Cream Awards and the Roses Design Awards.

Click here to watch the series on Vimeo

We also created and developed a logotype, colour palette and typographic style to provide Ashburton with a full set of visual branding elements.

The ‘Ashburton’ name struggled to work in small spaces like investment listings; we therefore developed a distinctive and strong logotype that shortens the name by removing three of the character down-strokes and merge the characters. This created a mark that is easy to read and works well in small spaces. It is also intriguing as it requires a second look.

Each manifestation of the identity was then considered in turn until we’d developed a full corporate identity system – spanning across the Ashburton website, press advertising, a literature system and signage through to the creation of animations for specific products. Each manifestation of the identity was then considered in turn until we’d developed a full corporate identity system – spanning across the Ashburton website, press advertising, a literature system and signage through to the creation of animations for specific products.

Folders and journals

Forms and legal documents

We created a colour palette which reinforces the brand identity through a single minded system. Claret, alluding to the previous brand colour of burgundy, is the strong and distinctive corporate signature colour.

This traditional brand colour is complimented by a vibrant colour palette used to distinquish between products, communicating the structure and freedom enjoyed by the Fund Managers.