Brand strategy, brand architecture, and brand identity for a historic midcentury-modern furniture company.
David Edward is a high-end luxury furniture manufacturer from 1960s Baltimore. When Kimball acquired it in 2019 (to add an offering of statement pieces to their product portfolio), they called on us to give them a solid brand update. The challenge was to quickly take the brand to market with room to grow the brand over the next couple of years. We decided to present Kimball as the ‘parent-endorser’ of the David Edward brand so that David Edward would lead in the brand story; therefore we replaced some of David Edward’s assets with Kimball’s. However, we did create an all-new photo-style, copy-style, and color/grid language specific to David Edward’s positioning. We can get more in-depth with this strategy when we talk.
Building from the position that their seating and tables are designer-made ‘signature’ pieces, we charged them up as a boutique brand. We developed, what-we-called, a signature photo style—opting out of renderings and did all real photography with mostly natural sunlight. We used warehouse settings, so the images felt like the furniture was taken straight out of the designer’s studio.
To keep this a designer-center brand, we developed a visual language all about neutrals—blacks, grays, and shades of whites. This allows for the product to be the highlight of the story. These brand colors were used consistently from fabric selections, web and print colors, and showroom environments (paint, flooring, wallcovering). We identified every touchpoint where we can tell the designers’ story—website pages, e-blasts, podcasts, PR, sales presentations—and created scripts, copy, templates, and library graphics for easy company-wide usage, i.e.:
“The David Edward Collection by Kimball® delivers upon our ethos that timeless design enhances both workplace and public environments. We collaborate with internationally acclaimed designers to create signature products that effortlessly unite form and expression. This enduring aesthetic elevates the experience from the expected to the exquisite.”