Eurostar Group receives a rebrand from DesignStudio
Comprising a new logo, symbol, colour palette, photography, illustration and sonic branding, the new identity brings both companies together under the Eurostar name, which was chosen “due to its powerful equity and global recognition”.
The new branding will launch in full by the end of 2023, and hopes to put a modern face on the Eurostar Group while respecting the heritage of its two brands. “A key part of the success of our partnership was to work closely with Eurostar and Thalys stakeholders to capture the essence of each brand’s near 30-year heritage, whilst evolving them into the future,” says Julien Queyrane, DesignStudio creative director.
“This led to our brand idea and creative platform, Spark New, which symbolises how the new Eurostar Group brand is supercharged to spark new experiences, new ideas and new opportunities through high-speed train travel.”
The new symbol, a combination of the Eurostar E and a star, sees the return of a star to the logo. Bespoke wordmark typography also nods to the 1994 Eurostar logo with lowercase italic letter forms, which were created by DesignStudio in collaboration with Leo Field and Luke Prowse. The new branding sees the removal of the metallic ribbon of the recent logo and presents a neater approach, more suited to digital environments and the current trend for stripped-back design.
The ‘spark’ is intended to be used across the full brand experience – from train livery and across stations, to digital platforms including website, apps, social media and TVCs. The new identity also modernises the Eurostar and Thalys colours, featuring a punchy blue and deep navy, and six secondary colours.
DesignStudio partnered with seven illustrators from each of Eurostar Group’s five countries to create a set of artworks which aim to capture the uniqueness of the different destinations. These are complemented by photographs by John Adrian, and sonic branding created in partnership with Zelig Sound.
For the headline typography, DesignStudio chose La Pontaise, for its “distinct and elegant feel while bringing warmth and impact with high contrast characters”. This is supported by ABC social, “a hardworking and smooth sans serif body font, with subtle details that create a visual link with La Pontaise”.
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