showcase
Brand for a residential project in the heart of Moscow
project
John McAslaln + Partners developed the architectural design in 2019.
Their description of the project below—became my branding brief.
Introduction
Located on one of Moscow's most charming historic streets, within walking distance of all the city’s important sites, Sretenka is an ideal location in which to live a vibrant urban life. The single modern building combines residential, entertainment and retail sites, all attuned to both the environment and the city's renewed global identity.
Although the location requires a very sensitive approach to scale and character, the architecture is confidently modern, a thoughtful reflection of Moscow's evolution.
The bright, modern apartments have views in all directions, access to parking and fitness facilities, and a hidden entrance through a small park by the house. The architects took special care to minimize the street noise of Sretenka for the apartment residents. And on behalf of those living in the surrounding neighborhood, they took care to ensure the building’s appearance was a natural fit.
The result is a well-balanced project on a human scale—quiet, elegant and complementary to its surroundings.
30 min
Walking Distance
Initial Concept
Aparthotel with park entrance.
Examples of projects where public green spaces have become an integral part of a luxury setting, providing relaxation, well-being and beautiful spaces to live and work.
Reference images: Holland Park Villas London
Design Approach
A development on this unique site has an obligation to respond to two distinct urban scales. The frontage directly facing Sretenka needs to offer a building mass which broadly aligns with the historic properties directly adjacent to and opposite to the site. Moving along Pushkarev and Sergiyevsky Lanes towards the east from Sretenka, an opportunity is revealed for any development within the site to increase in scale and height towards the park.
Our approach expresses these different scales as two linked but distinct building forms: a 3-story building for retail functions facing Sretenka and a “sistered” 6-story block facing the local park. The buildings share a common architectural language and the overall effect is to express a unified development that is modern and confident in its form and materiality but at the same time sensitive in its scale and its respect for the historic context.
Design Approach
The design has a clear separation and articulation between retail and residential functions. The residential portion and its associated leisure amenities are given a distinct and exclusive entrance facing the park. The retail and potential restaurant functions have an opposite but equally positive and prestigious entrance facing Sretenka. The design uses this separation to create a buffer between the residential and the traffic noise on Ulitsa Sretenka, maximizing its exclusivity and outlooks. It is one development with two functions that share a unifying architectural character and identity.
The challenge
Such a beautiful project!
It needs to be supported by thoughtful branding.
brand development
my role
Brand Strategist:
To develop the brand’s positioning and core ideas.
To create the brand platform: identify the target audience, give the project a name, articulate the project’s promise, and define its unique value.
To conceptualize and develop a message to be the core of future communication.
Developing the Target Audience
This residence is for people who love and appreciate old Moscow, people for whom Prosvirin, Pushkarev, Pechatnikov are familiar and favorite names. They like this chamberliness, the low houses, the charm of walks along the alleys, the sense of history, the silence of the city center.
But they don't want to live in pre-revolutionary houses with small windows, old-fashioned layouts and lack of services in the neighborhood. They've traveled extensively, they have high expectations of how things should be done, and they want a place that meets their needs and those of their families and that is special.
Developing the Positioning
The location and architecture speak for themselves. That they meet the crteria of their potential new residents is obvious.
But what is required is defining name that is succinct, that conjures up delightful images of future life in such a residence, and that will become a familiar signifier of gracious urban living—in short, a name suitable for a celebrity among residences.
Naming
The rare and valuable location of the house itself has very positive associations. The address—Sretenka 13/26—is as evocative to a Moscovite as, for example, 72nd Street and Park Avenue is to a New Yorker.
For branding, Sretenka Street already is a brand with no competition. Over three hundred years old, it has built a esteemed and unparalled reputation. We can just gently put that word in our logo. Crème de la Crème.
But I can Raise the Value Even Higher
To ensure that this site and this residence becomes even more celebrated, I suggest emphasize its very special feature and connect it with the name-address.
One Simple Line
with many valuable implications:
I'm highlighting the most powerful USPs—a pool right in you home.
This is the feature on which I can build clear and enticing visual communication.
This is the way to create a residence that is a celebrity.
An Ambitious Goal
To ensure sure that the phrase “I live in a Residence with a Pool” (in the context of life in Moscow) is perceived as distinctively as “The House on the Embankment” or “The House with Atlantes”.
All visual and verbal communication should be built around this phrase.
Brand Promise
Modern architecture, cool layouts and finishes in the most pleasant area in central Moscow—on Sretenka Street. A residence with an outstanding feature that is a cause for envy.
And that’s where you live: in the Home with a Pool.
development
my role
be specific
design brand identity
my role
Creative Director:
Set tasks for the photographer.
Oversaw the results to ensure all elements aligned with the brand’s concept and style.
Shaped the project’s unified visual language and tone of verbal communications.
Graphic Designer:
Designed the logo.
Developed the visual identity, including the color palette, pattern, typography, and typeface hierarchy.
Created branded materials such as business cards, folders, letterheads, notebooks, mugs, and other items.
Water as a symbol
The only marketing materials that I need is Photo Set. So I put together a brief for the photographer, in which I described my vision.
Water as a symbol has always attracted artists and poets.
In the 20th century, with the emergence of public spaces, swimming pools and club beaches became an iconic theme in the visual arts.
The photographs should remind the viewer of 20th-century drawing, graphics and painting, thanks to well-calibrated light, shade and color solutions and detailed composition.
Thought-out close-ups, strengthening of visual expressiveness by reflection in the water surface, top and side angles: these techniques will eliminate the feeling of “casual”, “everyday” or “blogger” photos.
Photo Set
Together with a LI-NE agency team and extremely talented photographer Yan Yugai we created a stunning Photo Set referring to the works of great artists of the 20th century.
The first contact with a brand will be these images.
Refinement, artistry, aesthetics - these are the main principles of visual communication.
Our target audience, to whom we tell the story, are people characterized by educated perception, who can distinguish and appreciate beauty. In this way, we can attract the attention of those who are who are familiar with world art culture, who care about aesthetic content and who have a lot to choose from.
Logo
Embodying the idea of elegance, chamber and modern approach to classical values. Soft but expressive lines of the numerals part of the logo in combination with humanistic grotesque text part symbolize the connection of the world of fashion and gloss with everyday life. The unusual graphic design of the numbers reminds of optical distortions caused by the water surface of a swimming pool.
Color Appearance
Characterized by a lot of “air”, with active use of blue water tones. Ink color is used for the logo and texts.
Orange is used as an accent color.
Pattern
Pattern is also working on the main message - "House with a Pool". Placed on any surface it immediately turns it into a little pool in your palms. It looks especially great in the envelope window.
Digits for apartment numbers
To maintain the stylistic unity, the numbers of the apartments are made with the same numbers used in the logo.
Pool on the Hat
The margins of the hat have become the path of the pool on which the pattern girl is swimming.
development
my role
be specific
visualization
my role
Creative art-Director:
Set tasks for the arch visualizators.
Oversaw the results to ensure all elements aligned with the brand’s concept and style.
Tone of communication: basic principles
The tone of communication is an excellent tool to convey the key values of the Sretenka 13/26 brand: elegance, sophistication, customer care and a modern approach.
It should be respectful, calm, aimed at an audience that appreciates quality, aesthetics and professionalism.
1. Brevity:
• Messages should be concise and informative. Avoid unnecessary details that can overwhelm perception.
• The tone should be confident but without a hint of arrogance.
2. Respectfulness:
• Respect the client's intelligence and taste, do not use clichés or phrases that may seem trite.
• Avoid a directive style; instead, suggest and recommend.
3. Emotional restraint:
• Do not overload communication with emotion. Keep the tone intelligent and calm.
• Avoid buzzwords like “the best,” “unique,” “revolutionary” – instead use descriptions that capture the essence.
4. Aesthetics and sophistication:
• Use rich but not overloaded language.
• Prefer visually associative and figurative expressions.
5. Personalization:
• Speak to customers based on their tastes and needs.
• Avoid formulaic responses and make each interaction unique.
Conclusion
I’m pleased about having used the context of the place and the quality of the project to highlight its uniqueness with the one line “A Residence with a Pool” and build the whole communication around that.
I'm sure that in time “A Residence with a Pool” will become a uniquely familiar name, that the client will be successful, and the residents will be proud of where they live.
credits
such a project could not have taken place without the active and passionate participation of many wonderful and talented people. I want to thank everyone who put their energy and love into the project.
client
glavstroy
CEO: andrey vasilev
managemenr: masha mironova
marketing: marina timashova
sales: alexey gusev
architecture
mc aslsan + partners
photography
agency: li—ne
photographer: Yan Yugai
visualisation
vis-On