ABOUT

Little Swift is a bar and off licence situated in the buzzing seaside resort of Margate, East Kent, known as the original English seaside resort. The brand name is a reference to a migrating bird once popular along the British coast, and a metaphor for the recent rejuvenation of the town. The scope of the brand identity was to embody the quirky, arty and community-focussed spirit of the local people, but also highlight the singularity of the bar offer: local and boutique beers, low intervention wines and a cocktail programme inspired by seasonal herbs grown on the rooftop terrace.
The stunning location overlooking the main beach and the stonewall pier is the perfect spot to soak up Margate’s dramatic sunsets, made famous by JMW Turner’s watercolours. The ever-changing gradients of the skies over East Kent were the main inspiration behind the brand’s palette; it’s a bundle of pastel tints with a nod to the multicoloured beach huts typical of British resorts.
The project involved the design of a custom lettering and logomark that had to be memorable and light-hearted alike. The doodle-like bird logomark was also evolved into a whole set of icons that bring to life the many different drinks on the menu. We then built a consistent range of POS materials like business cards, postcards, glassware and merchandise. Since the building has two opposite entrances, the indoor space was brightened up with environmental signage to help customers navigate the bar intuitively. The outdoor of the building was painted in the brand’s flagship peach colour and the sign on the fascia was handmade by local signpainter Hermetic. Lastly, we installed custom-made vinyls to shade and billboard the windows.