ABOUT

BAGGI were briefed by Waltham Forest to review its destination and invest brand, and help identify what makes the borough unique and bring it to life through storytelling and a flexible, new visual identity system. 

OBJECTIVES
The invest programme plays an important role in attracting private and public investment to the borough. So it’s vital that the brand is able showcase the very best Waltham Forest has to offer for people to live, work, invest and do business with.

THE INSIGHT
Chances are, if you’ve never actually visited the Borough of Waltham Forest, you’ll be completely unaware of how much it has to offer. And yet, from the very origin of its name in the Doomsday Book in 1075 – Wilcumestouue means ‘The Welcome Place’ – Walthamstow and latterly the Borough of Waltham Forest, has always had a reputation as a welcoming place for visitors. And this provided the inspiration for the brand identity.

THE IDEA
The most successful ‘place brands’ usually have clearly defined stories and attributes. But they also have consistent and distinctive brand identity assets that are flexible and easy to use across many different activities. They are not over-imposing the brand on the place. Rather they are shining a light on and showcasing the very best it has to offer.

This was the intention when creating the identity for Waltham Forest’s investment branding, as featured at recent events in the Borough. The logotype was inspired by William Morris’s famous line ‘Fellowship is Life’, chiselled into the fascia of Assembly Hall in Fellowship Square.
 
The ‘FOR’ element of ‘FOREST’ is used to highlight the unique benefits for people looking to live, visit, work and invest there. And instil a sense of pride amongst residents.

RESULTS:
Waltham Forest recently received £31 million from the UK Government's levelling up fund, more than any other London borough. This will go towards a variety of key projects such as improvements to Leyton Station, sustainable programs for walking, cycling, local parks and sports facilities, and attract visitors to a new cultural quarter centred around the new Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

“The brand has the potential and flexibility to skip between, or focus, on the huge variety of amazing assets the Borough has to offer - from God’s Own Junkyard to The London Wetland Centre, from the new Soho Theatre to Portsmouth University campus. Celebrating the place, and its people above all else.”
Debbie Porter, Corporate Director for Communications & Strategy at Waltham Forest