Elevating product and process excellence

How might we transform an Australian exterior surfaces supplier into a leading global design expert in understanding the performance and potential of raw natural building materials?

Eco Outdoor collaborate with the world’s best architects on jaw-dropping projects around the world. They specialise in the supply of innovative and unique exterior surface treatments for residential and commercial projects as well as outdoor furniture and are market leaders – committed to innovative, natural and considered design solutions. They source, buy and develop a truly unique product range. With origins in the landscape design and the construction sector, they understand the importance of technical support, and extensively test their products, only working with those that can be supplied in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Tasked with setting the foundations for their global growth, we needed to refresh the Eco Outdoor brand identity to position the business as more than just an outdoor furniture and exterior surfaces supplier. The new brand needed to hero their understanding in the aesthetics of stone, wood and ceramics and knowledge on how each material performs.

We developed a brand strategy that positions the business as integral partners for architects and suppliers. Through stakeholder interviews we learnt Eco Outdoor’s purpose – to craft spaces with soul through inspirational architectural surfaces. The materials they work with immediately add character and distinction to any space. The materials, texture and imperfections give them a patina that gets better with age, and they collaborate with specifiers to help bring their projects to life. It was clear materiality and process are key factors in Eco Outdoor’s offer.

This led to the strategic idea of, ‘Inspired by the wonder of nature’. This concept focuses on the crafting and curating of exceptional architectural surfaces, celebrating the imperfections and textural richness that can only be found in nature. It’s about working with nature, not against it, and valuing the wonder that’s brought to truly inspiring spaces and places by natural products.

Eco Outdoor had always struggled with using their longform logo, particularly in digital environments. One of the first elements we developed was a shortform logo. We found simply ‘Eco’ wouldn’t be an appropriate describer, so we landed on ‘eo’ as a symbol Eco Outdoor could own. The primary colour palette includes shades designed to give Eco Outdoor a fresh, sophisticated and striking feel. A typeface was chosen for its architectural qualities, the sharp lines conjuring carved stone.

We redesigned the Eco Outdoor catalogue as a design-led newspaper, highlighting the brand’s outdoor furniture collection through impressive large-scale photography, stand-out type and evocative copy. Seeking to embed moments of discovery, this print piece also includes bold inserts featuring pull quotes from the publication’s articles and emphasises the brand’s partnerships with notable designers including Tom Fereday and Sibella Court. This 10,000-run print publication is set to launch the new brand with impact.

The reimagined brand world – from logo mark to visual and verbal identity – is brought to life across every brand touchpoint, from social to spatial.

“We loved working with Frost*collective on our recent rebrand project. They took a rigorous approach to understanding our business and our brand and developing a brand strategy before we looked at creative output. The team is friendly and down to earth and of course incredibly creative. They pushed us out of our comfort zone, and we went to places we wouldn’t have ended up without them. This rebrand came at a time of growth and expansion and we felt we were in very good hands.”

Nikou Azimzadeh
Head of Brand
Eco Outdoor