Innes House
Bringing new life to a historic Highland home.
Brand Identity
Creative Strategy
Print Design
Web Design & Development
Innes House is an idyllic 5000 acre estate in Northeast Scotland, with an historic 17th century castle at its heart. Perfectly positioned between the spectacular peaks of the Cairngorm National Park, the illustrious distilleries of the Spey Valley, and the golden sands of the Moray Firth, Innes House is an historic family home and idyllic gathering place.
In order to broaden the homes appeal to a contemporary yet discerning guest audience — both local and international — we were appointed to create a bold new brand proposition, visual identity and website for the venue.
Key to this was celebrating the rich history, natural beauty and exquisite hospitality of the home and wider estate.
Following an immersive visit to Moray, we drew on the family heritage, beautiful interior, iconic architecture and surrounding countryside to create a timeless brand identity for Innes House — subtly luxurious and aspirational, ensuring that the family home is synonymous with country elegance and outstanding levels of hospitality.
The new brand is championed with an iconic, highly crafted and contemporary marque. The Longship is an inherent legacy element of the family’s heraldry and is deeply-rooted in the physical fabric of the house — acknowledging the past while embracing the future ambitions of the estate.
The supporting wordmark is set in a modified version of the typeface Moulin, crafted to include subtle reference to the lettering found on an archival guestbook inscription we discovered on our site visit. Moulin is also used throughout considered brand application, its organic, sculptural details echoing the surrounding natural environment, while a modern, confident and simple brand palette references the warmth and hospitality of Innes House.
Further inspired by the rich history of the estate, we developed the proposition of “a home, mellow with age and hospitality”, taken from a quote from the owner’s ancestor, which perfectly encapsulates the proposition of understated luxury. This was supported by a welcoming and engaging tone of voice that makes visitors feel welcome at this home from home.
A supporting suite of natural, contemporary photography by Caroline Briggs captures the warmth of key spaces across both home and grounds.
Touch set themselves apart with a very personalised approach from the outset and showed a genuine interest in our business and the history of it and where we would like to go with it in the future. We felt completely at ease with them and that it was an open table for discussing ideas which helped the ideas to keep flowing.