Visible Edge finalises Dorma’s rebranding

Homewares manufacturer The Dorma Group launches a website designed by Visible Edge next week, in what is the final tranche of a rebranding programme believed to be worth around £50 000 to the consultancy.

The work also involves the creation of identities, stationery and style-guides for bedlinen-to-curtains brand Dorma and parent company The Dorma Group.

The product brand holds three Royal warrants. While research suggested these were still important for Dorma’s mature target market, the aim of the rebrand was to refresh and update the look, according to Visible Edge director David Riches.

‘We’ve introduced a more contemporary typeface to make the identity more robust. The brand also went through a radical colour change about six months ago, which the company had tried to implement itself. But there were no rules [for this] and the identity was not in any way codified,’ he says.

The identity guidelines were a crucial part of the project, Riches adds, because the company’s relationships with licencees, high street retailers and mail order companies mean ‘third-party handling [of the brand] needs to be carefully controlled’.

The website, www.dorma.co.uk, presented two main challenges – the breadth of the product offer, which includes a large accessories range, and portraying the ‘touchy-feely’ elements of home furnishings on-line. The solution was use of aspirational photography and an interactive ‘shop by swatch’ facility, says Riches.

Visible Edge was appointed in January without a pitch. Senior designers David Cross and Kin Cheung were responsible for graphics and website design respectively.