Challenge
Tourism is a critical component of the West of Ireland’s economy. The region faced a major challenge with international tourism numbers and its share of holiday visits to Ireland dropping significantly over the period 2007-2010 – a performance which was exacerbated by the impact of the global financial crisis and Ireland’s challenging economic circumstances at the time. Urgent action was required.

Solution
The branding created awareness that attracted national and international visitors to the area. For the Wild Atlantic Way to be a success, we need each community along the route to take ownership of their own part of the project whilst remaining part of the overall vision. Our goal was to allow space to integrate their ideas, stories, pride, culture and personality into the brand identity.

Approach
This project involved several partners and communities working together to promote tourism. We collaborated with the strategy team and clarified the brand story which focused on people, places and stories. We designed a flexible logo that represented the road, the land, the sea and the wildness of the region. The colour palette was inspired by nature. The graphic language includes stone textures, topographic lines and weather symbols. The photography is broken into macro, mezzo and micro shots to show the scale of the region. The idea behind this kit of parts is to create a consistent texture to the identity while allowing freedom for the tone of voice and visual to change depending on the author and their use for it. It is a living identity, one that has the ability to adapt and change with culture, people, nature and the West coast of Ireland.

List of services
Brand strategy, branding, logo design, brand identity guidelines, brochure design, advertising, brand development.

Value
In the two years since its creation, Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way has become a well-established brand, won numerous awards and generated significant international awareness; targets that would take most other international tourism products years to achieve. The 9 coastal counties on the route from Donegal to Cork provided 3.6 million international bed-nights, worth €1.9 billion to the Irish economy.

Collaborators
Photography: Sean & Yvette
Strategy: Place Matters

Challenge
Drinks Ireland is the Ibec sector that represents the interests of alcohol drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland. It is globally unique as it represents all categories of alcohol products in one umbrella organisation through its various trade associations (Drinks Ireland Beer, Drinks Ireland Cider, Drinks Ireland Irish Whiskey, Drinks Ireland Spirits and Drinks Ireland Wine).

The alcohol industry in Ireland is worth over €1.4 billion in export and sends its’ product to 140 markets globally. The industry supports over 92,000 jobs and contributes over €2 billion to the economy. Irish breweries, distilleries and gin schools are visited by over three million tourists each year. As an industry, it continues to grow and thrive.

Solution
Our concept for the review was to showcase the many varieties of drinks across all sectors. We did this by creating engaging imagery of colourful drinks. We collaborated with photographer, Ros Kavanagh, who took a series of overhead images. The photographs featured a large variety of drinking glass – from cocktail glasses, shot glasses, pint glasses to wine glasses.

We overlayed these images in the report with statistical pie charts. The annual review was to highlight the main statistical information on the drinks industry, along with updates on the key issues affecting the sector.

We also made a short promotional film for the launch of the review at Ibec. Click here to view

Services
Design for print, art direction, film, photography.

Value
“We found the team at Red&Grey to be responsive, creative and most importantly, ambitious. They bought into our ambition and made it their own, and they delivered on that shared ambition with a brilliant concept and design.”
William Lavelle, Drinks Ireland

Collaborators
Mischief making by John Waid
Film & photography by Ros Kavanagh
Photography by Matthew Thompson

Challenge
The International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) holds a series of diverse events in many unique spaces across the city. With over a hundred writers and dozens of events, there is something for everyone to discover. The festival’s goal is to enrich lives, provoke new thoughts and broaden experiences through literature.

Approach
A new look was required for the festival branding and 2019 campaign. We worked together with ILFD to create a new visual language that was constructed around the concept of challenging literature. We had real fun producing this festival campaign which featured a series of readers lost in their book.

For this fun project, we made a series of oversized books and mini books in various shapes and sizes. Each book was designed to fit into a specific format, such as a tall book for the tall flags and a very long landscape book for a billboard. The resulting photographs and films formed a unique language for the festival.

The new logo we created, was designed referencing the hippocampus, a mythical sea-creature who carried Poseidon’s chariot across the sea and land. Dublin’s hippocampus can be seen on Grattan Bridge over the River Liffey as ornate lamps on the cast-iron bridge. The hooves of the logo were replaced with quotation marks to signify the literature. The new branding appeared on t-shirts, totes, bookmarks and postcards.

Services
Branding, design for print, advertising, signage, merchandise.

Value
The 2019 festival was described as ‘boasting a stunning array of top international literary talent’ and ‘the country’s most successful and easily the best annual literary event’, attracting readers of all ages.

Collaborators
Mischief making by John Waid
Film and photography by Ros Kavanagh

Challenge
Drinks Ireland is the representative organisation for alcoholic drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland. They wanted to create a new brand that connects the whiskey distilleries around Ireland and develop awareness both nationally and internationally. Ireland is the home of whiskey and in the 19th century Ireland was the global powerhouse of whiskey production. But this all fell apart in the 20th century and by 1980 there were only two working distilleries left on the island of Ireland.

Solution
Together with Drinks Ireland and the Irish Whiskey Association, we created an adaptable brand identity that can be used for multiple audiences and contexts.

Irish Whiskey 360° is a connected circle of Ireland’s much-loved distilleries. In three hundred and sixty degrees it encompasses Irish Whiskey distillery experiences, the Irish Whiskey process, the people and the pace of life across this much loved Irish industry. Irish Whiskey 360° – One shared spirit. Many unique characters.

The brand, film and dynamic identity system were specifically designed for both Irish and international markets. Inspired by traditional iconography, Irish rain, poetry and people this is a system created to grow and adapt with the whiskey industry.

www.irishwhiskey360.com

Services
Branding, naming, copywriting, film, photography, website.

Value
“Drinks Ireland – Irish Whiskey Association worked with Red&Grey to develop a new brand and platform for Irish whiskey tourism. The result was IrishWhiskey360°, a dynamic and exciting proposition which responded brilliantly to the brief and the wishes and hopes of our members. We found the team at Red&Grey to be responsive, creative and most importantly, ambitious. They bought into our ambition and made it their own, and they delivered on that shared ambition with a brilliant concept and design that we believe will help promote Irish whiskey tourism in Ireland and around the world.”

William Lavelle
Drinks Ireland, Irish Whiskey Association

Collaborators
Photography: Matthew Thompson
Typography: Bobby Tannam
Copywriting: Gai Griffin