Hasta La Ideas

Brand consultancy Construct has created a minimal visual identity for luxury London retailer Celestine Eleven using embossed and indented lettering.

The Shoreditch shop, owned by stylist Tena Strok, sells clothing and accessories as well as apothecary products, homeware and books. It’s described as “an alternative luxury store” that caters to consumers “aesthetically, intellectually and physically”.

Asked to create a strong look that would communicate “utilitarian elegance”, Construct designed a typographic logo, a roman numeral marque and a shortened monograph made up of a diagonal line adjacent to a vertical one.

The full logotype is used on the brand’s website and packaging, and the numeral marque and monogram have been applied to stationery and marketing material using embossed, de-bossed and foiled lettering, printed by Benwells. “As the marque was based on Roman numerals carved in stone, we wanted to enhance the chiselled aspect. The result was a timeless marque like a magnifier glass,” explains design director Segolene Hutter.

The colour scheme has been kept minimal but the numeral marque has been applied to more vibrant photographic backgrounds online (top). “Tena wanted the environment to be soothing and calm but not conventionally ‘green’,” adds Hutter. “[The identity] had to illustrate the junction between utilitarian and sophistication, fashion meets holistic health.”

A consultancy set up by former Mulberry brand director Georgia Fendley, Construct specialises in designing for luxury brands and has produced some striking printed publications for Mulberry, Claridges and tourist site Porto Montenegro, as well as London-themed packaging for Harvey Nichols commissioned to mark the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic celebrations last year:

Celestine Eleven’s packaging is a little less vibrant but it captures the minimal feel Strok was keen to achieve. The use of embossing and indents make print materials more tactile and luxurious, and the chiselled marque and logotype also work well online.