Step Forward Luton
A place brand for a plucky townLuton has a rebellious working-class spirit. And an incredibly diverse and youthful population. It’s location in the foothills of the Chilterns sees it surrounded by stunning scenery and pretty villages. But most importantly it has a big vision created by its people, public services, local businesses, charities and community groups. A vision to become a healthy, fair, and sustainable town where everyone can thrive, and no one has to live in poverty: Luton 2040.
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Challenging perceptions
With our placemaking partner Filigree we were brought in to help challenge the misconceptions of Luton and build a brand for the town that would truly reflect its pride and purpose to everyone who lives, works or visits there.
To do this, we needed to talk to Luton’s people. We led workshops, engaged people on the street, ran community sessions. We worked with different stakeholder groups: service providers, cultural and heritage groups, schools and young people, local businesses and residents.
Common themes emerged. A shared view of Luton as a plucky town with a strong sense of what it means to be a Lutonian. A place of generosity and conviviality. A community that has an entrepreneurial and can-do determination. Indeed, the vast mural that welcomes you to the town from the railway station says: “If you can dream it, you must do it.”
Through our conversations we uncovered a visual and verbal narrative that better reflected the vibrancy of the town’s streets and districts. A from-the-heart story about hidden gems and big ambitions, including a revamp of the town centre, a new stadium for its newly promoted Premier League football team, and plans to bring the Lea, the river that runs through the town, into the light having been hidden under its streets since the 1960s.
Step Forward Luton
The name Step Forward Luton was chosen by the town from our proposed shortlist. It is a rallying cry for all Lutonians to tell the world what’s great about the Luton, attract new investment and emphasise that Luton’s moment is now.
It is important the brand identity stands alone and doesn’t look or feel like it’s strongly affiliated with the council or partner organisations. The logo uses a bold, graphic font to reflect the town’s confidence, with space to insert photography within the letters when used as a graphic device. And the brand language is split into two – one half for residents and local businesses (place), the other half to support economic development (inward investment). Each half reflects the needs of the different audiences, while supporting one overall message that Luton is ready to take a bold step forward to a more prosperous future.
There is one logo, one set of icons, a photographic style, video intros and outros, and a graphic lettering approach. To bring clarity to the two halves of the identity, different colour palettes and headline fonts are used, and the place brand uses colour photography throughout, while the investment brand uses black and white. Both brands work on their own but also complement one another.
We designed two websites, social media templates, hoardings, lamp-post banners and poster templates, built environment graphics, launch event concepts and a comprehensive brand communications guide and toolkit. With Filigree, we published a town-wide investment prospectus showcasing Luton’s potential. And as with the development of all our identities, accessibility was baked in from the start.
Lisa Cromer, Brand Ethos’s design director, said: “It was a real pleasure to get to know about Luton and its enthusiastic residents and council team, and to be a small part of the story to help change the negative perception of the town. Each time we visit it’s exciting to see what’s changed in the landscape, the identity being rolled out on hoardings and in the streets, and where the now iconic large orange Luton letters are to be found this time. Luton is stepping forward in so many ways and it’s satisfying to see how the name matches the reality.”
