Financial district takes account of Elmwood look

Elmwood has created a fresh identity for the financial district of Glasgow, as the city aims to increase inward investment and business relocation to the area.

The work, for a development consortium led by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Executive, involves repositioning the Glasgow International Financial Services District two years after it made its debut in an increasingly competitive market of cities seeking to attract business investment.

IFSD’s image needed to be ‘revised’, says Elmwood managing director Jayne Barrett, because ‘other initiatives are catching up’, notably in Cardiff, Birmingham and Leeds.

According to Scottish Enterprise Glasgow brand and project manager Jennifer Neil, the group was tasked with creating a ‘credible and believable’ brand that distinguishes the city from its ‘like-for- like’ competitors.

‘Our research showed that the attitude of the people is what differentiates Glasgow,’ she says.

Barrett says much is being made of the city-centre, Broomielaw location and the ‘Glaswegian can do/ nae bother attitude’. But the central theme of the work is business transformation, the idea that Glasgow IFSD can help businesses ‘stay ahead of the curve’, she says.

A brand template, including a series of ‘icons’ (pictured) that can be used by partner organisations of IFSD, has been developed by Elmwood’s Leeds-based creative director Richard Scholey and Edinburgh-based design director Graham Sturzaker.

The work will be applied to sales literature, an image library and a website and across banners, hoarding and signage in the city. Elmwood was appointed in April following a four-way pitch.