The nature of legal chambers required Shout to create an umbrella brand for a number of independent, senior barristers to practice under. Where we would normally be looking to represent what is unique about a practice, we needed something reasonably generic that could represent the barristers as independent practitioners.
This inspired us to take the lead from the name of the chambers, Lakes Chambers. The resulting icon is designed to loosely representing Mokoia Island and its reflection onto Lake Rotorua. Read further meaning to that if you will!
Because barristers are required to instruct under their own names, not as Lakes Chambers, the brand icon can be separated from the main logo so it’s just the icon, brand fonts and brand colours that appear on each barrister’s letterhead. By carrying through some branding to the letterheads, instructions maintain a connection to the brand without breaching the requirement for the barrister to issue the instruction, not the chambers.
Overall, the Lakes Chambers brand is professional, modern and elegant and stands up against similar practices in the larger cities. The elements have translated well to signage, stationery and the website.
Simple branding projects still require strategy to achieve the best possible outcome.