A NEW IDENTITY FOR PIONEERING OAK TIMBER-FRAMERS.
Strategy | Brand | Activation
Right in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, you’ll find Border Oak - a family-run business pioneering the revival of oak timber-framing. Founded in 1980 by joiner John Greene, Border Oak has grown from humble beginnings, to award-winning builder of sustainable homes all over the world.
Raw Clay were tasked with refreshing the Border Oak identity, whilst retaining it’s soul - paying tribute to the original logo which was drawn on a scrap of paper by John in the early days of the business. The new identity will support the next chapter of the company’s growth, and the development of new projects, as well as bringing joy to clients throughout the design and build process.
“RAW CLAY TOOK THE TIME TO REALLY UNDERSTAND US, DELIVERING A BRAND THAT WAS BOTH A DELICATE TRANSITION AND A BRAVE NEW LOOK – REFLECTING WHO WE ARE, BUT ALSO ENABLING PROGRESS.”
Merry Albright, Border Oak
With craftsmanship and a deep appreciation for material at the heart of the Border Oak ethos, it felt appropriate to develop a collection of beautiful printed assets for them to share with their customers. Each major project is captured in print - to be shared with the client as a memento, as well as acting as a physical portfolio for future clients to browse.
The new Border Oak identity centres around a more social approach to marketing - building a lifestyle around the brand and deepening the already meaningful connection the team have with their clients. The printed Folklore magazine is expanded upon with a digital archive of recipes, home tours, and interviews.
The identity extends to new signage, wayfinding and branding, implemented across the Border Oak headquarters as well as on location at their various client sites. Embroidered uniforms for the team and branded business vans further reinforce the brand identity and help to spread the Border Oak name.
To build on the lifestyle element of commissioning a Border Oak home, we created a seasonal newspaper, Folklore, featuring stories, interior design inspiration, and recipes curated by the in-house team.
