A refreshed visual identity and digital home for Halley Stevensons, the original pioneers of waxed cotton textiles
Halley Stevensons are the world’s leading producers of waxed cotton and other weatherproof fabrics. With a history stretching back to 1864, their textiles are used worldwide and regularly feature in collections at London, Paris, New York, Munich and Milan fashion weeks. From early 2020, LBD Studio has worked with the leadership team at Baltic Works to redefine the existing Halley Stevensons brand, repositioning the business to showcase over 150 years of history and innovation while focusing on the future of sustainable water-repellent fabrics.
Client
Type of work
Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Print Design, Digital Design, Content Creation
Sector
Manufacturing and Industrial
Location
Dundee, UK
Breaking new ground
Following months of research and development, we designed a new brand system that places their values and proposition at the heart of everything they do. Integral to this refreshed system was the new brand identity — this took the form of a contemporary brand symbol and a refined ‘Halley Stevensons’ logotype. We also created a vibrant range of ‘elemental’ graphic textures to reflect the natural environment from which the fabrics originate, drawing inspiration from land, sea, air and fire. We also designed and developed their new website, creating a digital platform to showcase existing products and recent developments and ranges.
Working together in creative partnership with their internal team, we then refined and repositioned their product hierarchy while developing new product opportunities. So far, this has resulted in new category developments such as the EverWax range and exciting standalone products like EverWax Olive.
Creating a new visual identity
When tasked with creating a new brand identity for Halley Stevensons, we first looked to develop a flexible system that could apply across all printed, environmental and digital applications. The process identified that a refreshed ‘HS’ monogram would work well at smaller sizes (such as woven labels) while retaining brand heritage. It also presented an excellent opportunity to modernise the business, bringing in a clean aesthetic that felt more appropriate to their products and client base.
The monogram consists of two interlocking letters, H and S, respectively. This interlocking shape represents several things, from natural woven textiles to Halley Stevensons role in the circular fashion economy. The brand symbol also acts as a never-ending loop, promoting the idea that waxed cotton fabrics can be re-waxed to prolong life and prevent landfill.
Following months of insight-gathering and brand definition workshops, we identified and captured three unique personality traits that apply to the business, its people and products. These are ‘Orginal Character’, ‘Adaptive by Nature’ and ‘Conscious Innovation’. Working alongside the broader visual system, these character traits help bring a new level of clarity to their offering, giving greater insight into the business’s long-term goals.
Brand guidelines to drive consistency
Following the Halley Stevensons brand identity redesign, we produced an extensive brand guidelines document to capture and communicate a wide range of design principles such as positioning, typography, motion design, and colour palette.
Given the exciting nature of the brand and its international client base, the guidelines needed to be extensively tested locally and annotated to ensure maximum uptake. These guides included a range of best practice examples such as packaging, print and digital. These guides were then rolled out to suppliers internationally, bringing consistency to materials such as labels, swing tags, wax tins, bottles, fabric packs and sample cards.
A fully integrated eCommerce website
The next phase of work was to design and develop a new website to capture their unique brand essence while showcasing the full range of original Halley Stevensons weatherproof fabrics. The solution took the form of a fully integrated eCommerce website to encourage designers and fashion houses to order sample lengths for prototyping new garments. The site is extensive in scope and features over 100 products and 800 fabric variations — it has also been commended as a ‘best in class’ example.
The website also allows creatives to explore the fabrics by characteristic. This challenges designers to thoroughly consider the type of material and finish they are looking to achieve and gives a great insight into how the fabrics handle and respond to creasing and water exposure.
We also worked with the marketing, sales and manufacturing teams to refine the product portfolio, streamlining all products into two main categories; Original and EverWax. These help as a decision-making tool for prospective clients looking for a traditional look and feel or something with even stronger sustainability credentials. The website meets all Google best practice guidance, is fully responsive and delivers fast, efficiently coded content to users internationally.
A revised product hierarchy
We worked with Halley Stevensons to streamline their portfolio of waxed cotton, creating two new categories to reflect their refreshed brand; Original and EverWax.
We then used these categories as a storytelling device, using branded photography and messaging to show their history of quality and innovation.
Optimised eCommerce and user experience
We achieved a lightning-fast platform optimised for all devices, browsers, and search engines by designing the new website with cutting-edge eCommerce systems and a clear SEO strategy. We also analysed the customer buying journey and created a range of materials, including photography, video and illustration, to help perfect the user experience.
Showcasing over 800 fabrics
Continued collaboration
We continue to find new ways to collaborate, working with the innovation and marketing teams to release exciting new collections and products. These include the recent AW22 Collection launch, the EverWax Olive product development and the relaunch of the Original and EverWax categories.
'As an established textile company, we needed an effective website to illustrate the tactile nature of our products. We also needed a user-friendly platform which was informative, engaging and had built in e-commerce. Liam and the team understood our niche market quickly and their proposal suited our brief perfectly. Naturally a good rapport developed quickly between our businesses and we were able to effectively communicate our needs throughout the project. As the project was extremely time sensitive, LBD Studio went above and beyond to seamlessly deliver an outstanding website for us. LBD Studio are an incredibly innovative and skilled team who are a pleasure to work with!'
Dorothy Arnott
Marketing Manager
