ABOUT

Brand building

Renaming and rebranding took this major architectural practice from Robin Partington & Partners to Apt, communicating its people-centred approach and change of company structure. The project also allowed Greenspace to reinforce its reputation for driving the legacies of architectural practices, following new identities and websites for Zaha Hadid Architects and WilkinsonEyre.

Client

The architectural practice Apt – previously known as Robin Partington & Partners – is driven by a creative, collaborative approach that creates buildings to help people live and work well. Apt is recognised for projects that inspire through great design, innovation and craftsmanship.

Brief

At the start of 2018, Robin Partington & Partners appointed Greenspace to produce a full rebrand, including a new name and identity, bespoke typeface and marketing collateral. The brief was developed in line with significant changes for Apt, which was progressing to an employee-ownership structure and moving to a new studio in Clerkenwell.

Insights

Like many architectural practices, Apt was previously named after its Director Robin Partington, who founded the practice in 2009. The practice has always declared that, rather than having a house style, it is “built around people”, and has won awards for being a good employer.

Challenge

As the practice matured towards an employee-owned company structure, reflecting its people-centred ethos, it signalled the impending irrelevance of the studio being named after its founder. The need for a new name presented an opportunity to clearly communicate the practice’s approach and core ethos.

Solution

The new name expresses Apt’s purpose, to celebrate art, innovation and craftsmanship through exceptional architecture designed around people. Greenspace produced a confident new visual identity and a bespoke typeface called Apt Sans, developed in collaboration with Swiss foundry Fatype. We have also produced an interim website and sophisticated marketing collateral including stationery, brochures, a brand film and signage.

Legacy

Our rebrand for Apt has allowed this future-facing brand to confidently articulate its progressive structure, values and working approach. A unique typeface and progressive name have helped to create a brand with focus and longevity.

“The company has now matured into a shared ownership structure, and we wanted a name that reflects that organisation, today and for the future. We want to create architecture and design that is sustainable, thoughtful and imaginative and we feel this is best summed up in a single word: Apt.”- Apt Studio Leader Jason Green