Crystal clear Dartington identities

Dartington Crystal has signed off its new identity, created by Bluestone, following the group’s appointment two months ago.

Bluestone has rationalised Dartington’s six ‘confusing’ brands into two separate identities, which are due to launch before Christmas, says Bluestone group creative director Ian Gunningham.

Dartington Crystal and Dartington Designs will form the core of its business. Both will incorporate the same, redrawn typeface with contrasting treatments.

Dartington Designs’ identity will feature ‘wild’ colours to reflect the brand’s ‘funky, everyday glassware’, Gunningham says. The Crystal logo will be more subdued with black and dark blue colourways.

The Crystal brand will incorporate premium cut-glass, giftware, aimed at the anniversaries and weddings market.

The identities will be applied to packaging and promotional literature, set to launch by Christmas.

They will also be applied later to signage and literature in Dartington’s two visitor centres in Devon. Interiors at the centres may be revamped but it is too early to say when, Gunningham says.

Bluestone is also redesigning the Dartington website, which is scheduled to go live in the spring.

The aim of the rebrand is to make Dartington’s offering clearer and to distance it from its ‘stuffy’ past, he says.

Consumers found the six former Dartington brands – Designs, Crystal, Form and Function, Studio, Capredoni and The Gallery – difficult to understand, Gunningham says.