Places for London
Brand identity for Transport for London’s growing property company.
Previously known as Transport Trading Limited Properties Ltd. (TTLP), after internal restructuring to give the business more autonomy and a more commercial focus, Pentagram was commissioned to help create a new name, brand strategy and visual identity.
Research for the project involved multiple levels of stakeholder engagement alongside detailed competitive analysis and site visits. A long-term vision was needed, because, as well as being both sustainably conscious and inclusive to all, the brand also needed to balance the lines between quality and trust, transparency and responsibility, commercial and public-spirited, and heritage and future-facing.
Playing on TfL’s iconic London Underground announcement, the core strategic idea behind Places for London is ‘Minding London’s Gaps’. The new brand and visual identity represent the physical spaces and gaps in which the business operates, its two-dimensional rof a three-dimensional space provides flexibility, as well as a consistent and highly ownable visual style.
The logo is formed by a 3-dimensional frame which represents the physical places at the heart of the brand. The type is set in Johnston, the corporate font of Transport for London and synonymous with the London Underground. The 45° angle of the cubic frame is also reflected in the Johnston typeface, a subtle graphic link to the parent brand.
As part of the brand identity development, the team developed a graphic system inspired directly by the logo, this allows text and imagery to be placed into a flexible and highly legible framework across all communications and formats.
This graphic system has been used to inform other elements of the brand such as a comprehensive custom iconography suite, information graphics, and signage. It creates a distinct visual connection across all touchpoints and applications but still stands out visually in the often safe and restrictive world of public and governmental brand identities.
Designed at PentagramPartner.......................... Angus Hyland
Project team..................... Eoghan McMahon, Jack Brown, Karolina Alvekrans, Mariona Alegre, Daniela Perez, Charlotte Selby, Alex Wright