Case study 01 of 06
TR Hayes has sold furniture in Bath since 1915. Four generations on, it is still family owned, trading from seven floors of joined Grade II listed townhouses on Walcot Street, with a second showroom, the Paragon, across the road.
Bath knows it well. Much of the wider region has never been through the door. The brief was to give a much-loved local business a brand that could travel further without losing what made it worth the trip.
Nobody else in the region has a building like it. Customers wander a maze of real rooms, not a warehouse floor. So the brand starts there. The façade became the graphic device and the two stores became its stage. I gave it a line to live up to: the Home of Bath’s Homes.
A brand that looks like the street it lives on and talks like a knowledgeable friend. Friz Quadrata, a carved serif, echoes architectural lettering, while Manrope does the everyday work. Black and white carries anything permanent. Showroom Navy and Upholstery Pink do the talking, with Lamp Yellow kept for accents.
Line drawings of both buildings run through print, digital and the windows. The writing is plain and specific: Seven floors of home inspiration. The store you haven’t discovered yet.
On a listed street, fascias, projecting signs and fixed wayfinding stay monochrome and work with the architecture. Colour is saved for things that change: flags, window messages, posters. The signs give the structure; the colour carries the conversation.
The showstopper is designed in two layers: a CNC-engraved, edge-lit acrylic drawing of the building in front, and a printed fabric message behind it. The drawing stays; the message can change with the seasons and campaigns. It hangs clear of the window frame, so passers-by still see into the showroom. It works as an invitation, not a wall.
I wrote a tone of voice anyone writing for TR Hayes can use: explain, don’t hype; be specific rather than superlative; stay warmly British. Product copy, emails, social and signage can all sound like the same shop. Even the pillar inside the door speaks it: Need a hand? Start exploring.
I led and designed the work from positioning to signage: the strategy and messaging, the identity, the tone of voice and the signage system. I wrote the lines, including the Home of Bath’s Homes. A mid-weight designer is working with me on the website designs. Fiora’s client services team ran the relationship and reviewed the work with me.
The brand book has been delivered and the signage is installed at Walcot Street: the projecting signs, wall sign, flags, arrival wayfinding and the engraved window. The website designs are in progress.