Indigo Antiques Brand Identity by olivermilburn.co.uk

Indigo Antiques

Case Study

Indigo are located in Pewsey in Wiltshire. They proudly have the UK’s largest collection of luxury authentic Oriental antique furniture, Indian antiques & Chinese antiques in Europe. The business was referred to us by a close friend who had seen the disjointed brand and marketing collateral, and experienced first hand the potential for improvement across the board.

After an initial brand audit and site visit, we performed a complete rebrand of the business with new logo, values, guidelines, packaging and printed collateral.  Our services also explored the website UI and other ideas to help make the showroom more prominent. 

Indigo Antiques Brand Identity by olivermilburn.co.uk

The challenge

Indigo Antiques was established in London as an antiques shop in the mid 1970’s by Richard & Marion Lightbown. Even though the core values of the business existed in the hearts and minds of the owners, over the years the visual identity (what customers actually see) had become diluted from what it once was. This is a common challenge for any successful and growing business. The good news is that it can be addressed. Let’s get into it.

Although the products and the success of their business were stronger than ever, a variety of logos and messaging made the business feel disjointed and unsure of itself.

Restoring their style

After the friendly introductions, Indigo Antiques appointed us to help them refine the brand identity and focus for their business. 

"We inspire others to journey with us and experience the world’s most beautiful, authentic, oriental antiques."

A new brand for an established business.

The primary logo now features two colours; the Heritage Blue and the Indian Gold. With this controlled approach to colour, the brand feels more sure of itself, owning the two colours and enjoying their premium qualities. 

Alternative concepts were presented alongside the winning logo. In the 1970s, the business began trading in Camden Lock Market, so one approach was to include the renowned window frame in the logo. We also looked at asian ships and more modern alternatives.

The flower emblem was inspired by a piece of furniture in the showroom. We made small refinements to improve readability and definition in all sizes and primary locations.

"We cherry pick and we're very fussy buyers. We always buy beautiful things that we know will give us joy, so if they don’t sell quickly we get to enjoy them a little bit longer.”
Marion Lightbown
Owner of Indigo Antiques

Detailed brand guidelines

With the successful business growing in staff numbers, the importance to have some basic brand rules in place becomes very necessary. As a brand designer, we put these rules in place to ensure that the customer communications stay consistent and on point at all times.

The business owner benefits from improved consistency and a new sense of confidence to reach out and develop new marketing materials in-line with their brand. By putting a process in place from the start, time is saved because the initial concept already exists.

Assets regularly mentioned in the Brand Guidelines are: primary logo, secondary logo, brand symbol, colour, pattern, icon, photography, font, typeface, signage, social media advertising, printed advertising, signage, tone of voice and branded stationary.

After going through a brand or rebrand, all businesses should have a bespoke set of Brand Guidelines tailored to their staff and their audience. Guidelines are an essential resource for any brand –  big or small – who want to come across professionally and communicate to their customers with one voice.

A joined-up brand solution delivered

We successfully delivered a joined-up brand solution to Indigo Antiques, working flexibly to their timeframe with their existing website in place and delivering on budget as promised.

Although our preference is to provide a complete solution from start to finish, sometimes a business already has existing marketing assets and materials which require updating, which we take care of. But if we’re able to be involved from your customers’ initial touchpoint to the final after-sale email, then the impact and results we can drive and control from the whole process is improved.

Read more about how the new branding inspired all areas of the business.

We gave all external signage a complete overhaul with new, high quality signs located both sides of the entrance and along the barn building attracting visitors in from the road. We also stylised the Google map for printed communications.

Inside the showroom, messaging was also updated to welcome customers to try on garments and enjoy seasonal offers. This included the price tags for all items and seasonal signage.

We also co-wrote the company values to help inspire Indigo staff to live the core values of the brand and make informed future decisions on behalf of the business.

With an eCommerce website firmly established, the Director of Indigo Antiques also asked us to be involved with bringing their website in-line with the new brand. Part of this exercise involved improving their mega menu functionality and tweaking the colour palette for maximum readability and user experience.

High quality printed leaflets were designed to promote the business and showcase the new visual identity. With an excellent studio photographer on-site, Indigo Antiques are able to produce exceptionally high quality product images to attract online customers from around the world.

The showroom at Indigo Antiques is a fantastic place to visit and spend a few hours. Their new asia-inspired garden is a wonderful edition to an already impressive collection of beautiful antique furniture.

Located in Pewsey, Wiltshire, with plenty of parking. Please visit to indigo-uk.com

How was the experience?

It was a pleasure working with Tom and the team at Indigo Antiques. Their shared passion for beautiful things really comes alive when you experience the showroom. Visit Indigo Antiques and be inspired to create beautiful and timeless lifestyle spaces for your home. It's a fantastic day out, but not for our kids.
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Oli Milburn
Brand Designer, Osmil Ltd.

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