How do you find a way to create a new market if you’re a high-end marquetry brand? Our client Shamsian faced this question. But the owner also had the perfect answer – to launch a new and more accessible product under a new name. He wanted a new business with its own distinct identity. Shamsian specialise in furniture, joinery and giftware created by artisans based in Muscat in the Middle East. And, as you can imagine, these high-end luxury goods are targeted towards a very exclusive market.

Basically, there were two challenges here. Firstly, Shamsian had to design a product that could be made to order and 100% customisable. So the owner commissioned new designs that could be made ready to apply to existing surfaces in kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. This meant they would be suitable to use in hotels, bars and corporate reception areas – a totally new market. The second challenge was for us to devise a new name for the business and to design its new brand identity.

Thankfully, we had rich heritage to draw inspiration from because Shamsian produce such beautiful goods. Although we knew this brand had to be different, it still had to be part of the thoroughbred Shamsian stable. It also had to show the heritage, the artistry, the uniqueness of this world-leading company. Essentially, this was the next step in Shamsian’s evolution where everyone has access to beautiful things. So our first step in the creative process was creating a name that would appeal to a European market. After we looked at various options and did lots of research, we suggested Marq, Beyond Finish. We felt that this succinctly described what the company was all about. Next, we designed a strong and confident brand with CGI assets and then developed an ecommerce website. This means that clients could now order these beautiful tiles directly online.

You can see the results here. We think everything comes together beautifully. The logo, CGI assets, photography, website, sample mailers and photography combine to create a dynamic, fresh brand. It appeals directly to the world of interior design and helps enhance and promote this innovative, dynamic product.