DeSallesFlint
DeSallesFlint is an award–winning, boutique interior design studio founded by Regis DeSalles and Simon Flint. Their work seeks to create an eclectic world in every space with a rich narrative threaded through every detail. They undertake a curious, addictive, explorative approach to collecting inspiration from many sources of creative influence to help shape a concept, evoke a mood or tell a story, doing so hands-on with an approachable method that embraces collaboration.
After 10 years of building their successful agency, I helped DeSalles Flint reposition themselves to better attract more clients in the luxury hospitality and residential sectors. Their challenge was to better communicate their boutique, personal offering, and hands-on service that could differentiate them from the often cold, hierarchical, and corporate personalities of their competitors, all whilst attracting larger, luxury clients.
We began with a facilitated strategy workshop to uncover opportunities in the market and effectively reposition the brand in the minds of their new target audience.
Inspired by the murmurations of starling birds, our positioning strategy became ‘Synergy Through Collaboration’, seeking to communicate that when working with DeSalles Flint the sum is greater than the whole of its parts and that their clients could experience the results of a hands-on, truly collaborative approach.
Photography by Josh Shinner
The project began with a facilitated strategy session with the brand’s two founders. The session was integrated, hands-on, fun, and most of all, rewarding.
Our first port of call was to review the core of the brand to refocus and solidify the elements of the brand that would really resonate with their target audience. After 10 years of growth and development in the business, it was the perfect opportunity to refresh the brand’s Big Why, their Values and Vision for the future based on how they have grown.
The next challenge was to develop a keen understanding of the new desired target audience and how to best reach them, setting specific awareness goals such as securing new projects in the luxury sector and developing an online community beginning with a social media following.
We finished by defining the brand as a person with a distinct personality and voice. Key adjectives derived in this stage led directly to the uncovering of a fresh visual language.
Following on from the strategy session, it was time to create a beautiful and lasting identity system. Inspired by the energy and synergy in the flight patterns of starling birds called murmurations, the resulting identity communicates the brand’s collaborative approach to creating rich, layered narratives.
The brand identity explores this push and pull energy through adaptation to the width of the page and variation in both letter and word spacing.
This dynamic sentiment is paired with the simplicity of space and the use of colours derived from nature to communicate the hands-on and humble approach of the brand’s founders. Against a backdrop of muted, organic tones the introduction of a sole unexpected pop of colour is a bright blood orange. This brings an element of surprise representing a quietly confident and unapologetic spirit.
We provided full identity system development, brand tone of voice and copywriting, art direction, and application.
