Launched in 2000 the London Eye is one of the capital’s top tourist attractions, with over 3.5 million visitors a year.
Since it’s purchase in 2009 by Merlin Entertainments, I have been heavily involved in the London Eye’s re-branding and implementation. Working as lead designer, I have designed and overseen many projects from leaflets and promotional material to the in-capsule touch screens.
Branding
Marketing
Interactive
Brochure
Advertising
Animation
Art Direction
In 2009 the London Eye was acquired by Merlin Entertainments and LMC Design was handed the job of re-branding.
Formerly owned by British Airways, the previous brand was very sympathetic to BA’s own positioning. Merlin Entertainments, second only to Disney in theme parks and attractions, wanted to move the brand closer to their own ethos of magical family fun but still retain some of the London Eye’s discerning qualities. Once LMC had designed the logo, it was my task to create the look and feel of the London Eye brand and to build the brand identity guidelines.
Just a year after the London Eye re-branded, a sponsorship deal was struck with energy supplier EDF Energy. This meant the London Eye had to undergo a second re-branding exercise. A difficult task, as two clients had to be satisfied with the final outcome. The original core brand elements were retained, but EDF Energy did not simply want to attach their logo to the existing one.
The final outcome retains the ‘eye’ element but represents it using the ‘Energy line’ which is already part of the EDF Energy brand identity. A more prominent use of the orange and a change of typeface completed the bringing together of the two brands.
The work on this page is the current 2014 look in which wide angle shots are used with vast areas of sky. This creates a feeling of open space and is an excellent base on which to present information.
A new sponsorship deal was struck with Coca-Cola in 2014 and so another re-branding exercise was implemented. The overall look and feel remained with the obvious introduction of the Coca-Cola red.
