Part of the Air France-KLM group, Transavia operates from six home bases in The Netherlands and France, including its main bases at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Paris Orly. The ambition is for Transavia to become Europe’s leading airline in hospitality and service. The key objectives: add new routes, appeal to business passengers as well as leisure, and create a dominant online brand.

The re-brand was an integrated process combining company strategy, e-commerce and brand design. With leading digital agency Mirabeau, Transavia began to work on a new e-commerce platform to increase ancillary sales, improve the conversion of flights and reduce operational costs. Having identified the need to redefine Transavia’s positioning and visual identity (in accordance with Mirabeau’s e-commerce strategy and concept) Studio Dumbar was invited to join the team.

We began by developing Transavia’s new positioning. The two most important results: changing the name from transavia.com to Transavia (.com is too passé), and defining “It’s a pleasure” as the leading principle for the company. The design is playful, accessible and flexible. A special feature is the application of icons to the underbelly of Transavia’s planes, with a different combination of icons for each plane in the fleet. Another symbolic livery feature appears next to the entrance, where the word ‘Welcome’ is written in all the languages of the countries served by Transavia. The identity continues to roll out across uniforms, catering trolleys, in-flight amenities and more, with a new website – developed by Mirabeau – to follow soon.

Built in the 17th century and acquired by the Dutch State in 1820, the Mauritshuis is a fine example of Dutch Classicist architecture. Home of the Royal Picture Gallery since 1822, its opulent rooms are filled with Golden Age masterpieces including ‘The Goldfinch’ (1654) by Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt’s ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp’ (1632) and ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ (c.1665) by Vermeer. Following a two-year refurbishment, the Mauritshuis reopened in June 2014 with a new visual identity designed by Studio Dumbar.

Inspired by artists’ monograms, the new logo overlaps reproductions of key paintings to communicate a clear link between the Mauritshuis and its collection. Supported by a contemporary wordmark, the logo hints at the museum’s heritage while placing it in the 21st century. Golden Age paintings are known for their details: look closer and you’ll see more. We expressed this idea in the logo and a new photographic style: paintings are shown in context, through doorways. The core colour evokes royalty, the Golden Age and the house’s baroque interiors, while a brighter secondary palette echoes its famous damask wall coverings.

We applied the identity to a range of collateral including entrance tickets, invitations, ground plans, trams and flyers, as well as a new and comprehensive collection catalogue. We also created a new identity for The Friends of the Mauritshuis – a foundation that supports the museum with funding for new acquisitions and exhibitions.

 Commissioned in 1992 and launched in 1993, the visual identity created by Studio Dumbar for the Dutch Police Force is a fine example of durable corporate design. A national Police force needs a strong, authoritative image, whilst remaining accessible to law-abiding citizens. One should not change the Police’s identity every other year, so any solution has to be built to last.

The new identity merged the spirit of two previously autonomous police organisations, State and Municipal. A radical departure from the 8-point star associated with police forces worldwide, the new logo quickly became instantly recognisable and twenty years later it continues to endure. A strikingly successful part of the identity is the striped livery designed by Studio Dumbar for all police vehicles. The stripes have won many awards and have been voluntarily adopted by all of The Netherlands’ emergency services, including the Fire Brigade, Ambulance and Rescue Brigade.

VSMC (Visser & Smith Marine Contracting) is the European market leader in offshore power cable installation, creating grid-to-grid connections for offshore wind farms and other facilities. Having identified VSMC’s potential and ambition for international growth, Boskalis became a 50% shareholder and an equal partner with VolkerWessels. Studio Dumbar was appointed to provide the strategic expertise and creativity required to launch the brand into the global marketplace.

We worked with the client to create a new name that reflects the evolution of their company. VBMS (VolkerWessels Boskalis Marine Solutions) retains some of the company’s hard-earned equity while stepping away from its heritage and into the future. The wordmark is clear, solid and contemporary, with its distinctive ‘M’ dipping beneath the baseline to suggest grid-to-grid connectivity. We explored this theme further, creating a series of slogans to convey the new brand proposition and support the VBMS strap-line, We Connect. Supported by a strong, sophisticated colour palette of black and silver (supported by brighter accent colours) and an improved approach to photography, the identity has been applied to everything from print and digital, to uniforms and vessels.

With a huge fleet and over 14,000 employees across six continents, Boskalis is one of the world’s leading maritime service providers. Boskalis appointed Studio Dumbar to refresh and reorganise its visual identity, adopting a ‘one brand’ strategy while introducing consistency and coherence across a vast range of touchpoints.

Strategy
Strategically, we advised them to: capitalise on their name and brand equity; reposition the brand as a company of knowledgeable experts; and communicate their integrated services. Having simplified the name – from Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. to Boskalis – we changed their pay-off from ‘International Dredging & Marine Contractors’ to the clearer, more purposeful ‘Dredging and Marine Experts’. For the branding, we developed the concept of ‘Creating New Horizons’, which has since become the campaigning slogan for Boskalis.

Design
We simplified and updated the existing mark, retaining its recognisable blue and yellow semaphore flag; a simple crown was added for the holding company. Confident typography and a new approach to photography played an important role in the new identity design, all focused on communicating the ‘Creating New Horizons’ concept. With the horizon line as the focal point of each photo, several images can be connected to reflect the integrated services offered by Boskalis.

Results
The new identity introduced and enabled a ‘one brand’ strategy for Boskalis as well as new positioning. Instead of a fragmented portfolio with different companies and brand names, Boskalis now has a harmonised brand architecture, which succeeds in both contributing to and capitalising on their reputation.

Notable projects
Seeking to share their impressive array of international projects with clients, shareholders, suppliers, staff and press, Boskalis invited us to develop a magazine, Creating New Horizons. We advised Boskalis to publish online and print editions. The annual print edition introduces new projects and stories; the twice-yearly online edition presents more in-depth stories, videos and additional content. Responsive and therefore available on desktop, tablets or smart phones, the online edition has a mobile, international scope – just like Boskalis.

Alzheimer Nederland — Communication design with integrity for the Dutch Alzheimer Foundation

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are presenting the human race with one of its toughest challenges. Alzheimer Nederland works hard to raise awareness and funds for vital research, but times are hard. With their existing style lacking emotion and a competitive edge, Studio Dumbar were appointed to design a new visual identity.

Strategy
Competition between charity organizations is fierce. They all need to raise funds for important causes, but there is no way of ranking the seriousness of the problems each organization is working to solve or alleviate. Gaining sympathy is crucial. Our priority for Alzheimer Nederland was to speak to people’s hearts in a powerful way, but also quietly, without shouting – with impact and integrity.

Design
Having met patients, families and carers to experience the disease first-hand, we developed a strong and instantly recognisable identity. The new logotype is bold and confident, but like the human mind it also changes… The ‘vanishing points’ – the blurred, fading elements in the typographic style – visualise the effects of dementia, while some people have also seen them as sources of light and hope.

Results
The most important moment in the process came when the identity was shared with patients and carers. We were delighted and relieved when their feedback was so positive, and people continue to comment on how they feel an immediate emotional connection with the identity.