The alternative building

The Southside Building offers flexible design-led workspaces, located in one of Birmingham’s most vibrant, colourful and culturally diverse areas. With a strong mission statement – ‘Be known in the city, before the space is needed’ – a similarly bold brand was required.

Originally called Albany House, a change of name was the most obvious signifier of a change in direction for the building as it underwent a significant refurbishment. A change to The Southside Building helped take ownership of the thriving location in the southside of the city centre, as well as allowing us to absorb some of the area’s unique personality into the brand aesthetic.

Embracing the building’s desire to offer an alternative to the generic office spaces that populate the city allowed us to create the brand promise – visualised in a way that further distanced itself from the traditional. This approach was also carefully designed to resonate with the target audience of ‘creators, innovators and curators’ requiring office space in Birmingham’s creative heartland.

This aesthetic permeated the brand’s digital presence, with animated graffiti motifs and splatter patterns mimicking the area’s acclaimed street art. A friendly and conversational tone of voice gave life to the community ethos and collaboration culture, once again forging a distance from the corporate norms of office accommodation.

In a world dominated by grey, our work for The Southside Building created a colourfully disruptive presence that gave the brand personality and soul, allowing it to stand alone as a destination for businesses seeking a more creative space to call home.