BACKGROUND: Founded in 1928, Colibri grew from humble origins in an East London workshop into a globally successful brand. But by the 1990s the brand’s fortunes had taken a turn. The present owners acquired the business in 2009 with the aim of recreating the brand as a holistic lifestyle business fit for the future.
BRIEF: Resurrecting an icon. A complete re-brand from head to toe (Brand, Marketing and Products). Moving Colibri from being an outdated lighter business to a full range accessory brand. Building a team to take care of the entire branding spectrum – managing design, creating the product itself and marketing to distributors and end customers.
CREATIVE SOLUTION: We were keen to respect the brand’s heritage and liaised closely with the Founder's family to unearth the brand’s hidden secrets, snippets of which helped us as we developed the identity, brand story, guidelines and design philosophy – all centred on the Art Deco heritage of Colibri and its quirky Viennese founder Julius Lowenthal. A huge undertaking across three product ranges.
RESULTS: A vastly improved relationship with buyers and an ongoing partnership based on supporting their needs at retail. Sales increased by 30% in the first 2 months alone. Colibri is once again a thriving brand.
DISCIPLINES: Brand Identity, Product Strategy + Implementation, Product Design, Styling and Design, Naming, Packaging, Trade Show Design, Poster Design, Advertising, Image Styling, Copy Styling, Manufacture Co-ordination (China and Europe), Website Design + Build.
