With Love, For Life

VABEL

Homes are the place where the drama of our lives un-fold. They are our sanctuary, our playground, our retreat, and our stage. The place you welcome loved ones – padding in gently, voices hushed – for their first glimpse of a new baby. The venue for nights of home cooked food, too much wine and electric conversation. So, when Vabel invited us to translate the sense of home into a bold and beautiful brand that truly reflected their unique approach to crafting exceptional, infinitely liveable homes in covetable London locations, we felt right at home.

Disillusioned with poorly planned conversions and big box developments, in 2009 Vabel set out to raise the standard of London living. From the earliest ideas to living a life well lived, each home is designed and made by Vabel. From hand-picking the right locations, to design and architecture, through to project management and construction, all disciplines live under the same roof. An award winning formula, it’s meant the finished product is an authentic representation of their original vision, not a messy and unsatisfying compromise.

Reflecting on their journey, it was clear the brand simply wasn’t congruent with their product and ambition. Nor did it reflect the sheer talent of the team, commitment to design and quality. Working closely with Vabel we shaped the heart and soul of the brand. The result, is not just an identity but a mindset that imbues each project and forms the foundation to the liveability and enduring character of each home. Design-led and meticulously considered, it's inspired by people, place and lifestyle. A design language that truly reflects the exceptional craft of their homes, homes that feel good to live in and fall in love with. Not just today, but for life.

Homes with Character.

Love for Home. Love for Living.
Love for People and Place.

Home to the comfort seekers and avid entertainers; friends and strangers. The just dating couples and 'winging it' parents. The footy obsessed, 'Norf London' geezers and park-run craft coffee chasers. The Saturday morning market goers and art on the heath (with bubbles) kind of people. The free-wheeling lycra clad cyclists, and music lovers heading home from the Roundhouse after an all nighter. The bootcamp bunnies on the hill at sunrise and the popping to Paris fashionistas. The impromptu pint after work creatives and the always-on influencers. London, a unique blend of characters, from the born and bred to the 'here for a while' never to leave, new found Londoners.

When starting a new project, the team at Vabel put people at the heart of the process. Understanding the routines and rituals of how people use each space across the day, and how the property is inspired by and interacts with its surrounds. The ‘Rituals Of Everyday Life’ acted as a creative platform to set a clear direction for the brand and identity. It balances ‘how gorgeous is this space I get to call home’ with not being too polished that it becomes too precious for daily life. Afterall, it’s important to remember homes are to be lived in.

It’s this real world perspective that helped shaped a visual and verbal identity that blends tactility and character. A series of bespoke patterns born from the journey of making and quality of materials. A palette of earthy tones and vibrant highlights found across design and construction. A graphic system built on the same ethos of light, function, proportionality and comfort found in the interiors. A carefully curated image style that captures polish and patina. A toolkit, blending function and feeling.

Collaborating with Parisian based photographer Ludovic Balay, we set the direction for a series of images to capture the ‘Rituals of Everyday Life’. With an almost cinematic quality, they carry a sense of time and story. A combination of still-life and scenes that paint a picture of moments lived and the enduring ambience of home.

Rituals of Everyday Life.

From concept to construction, launching to living – we set the direction for a photographic style that could go beyond beautifully crafted interiors to share the journey of making. Combining the real world perspectives of on-site stories with impeccably styled interiors, the rituals of everyday life with local life stories. The categories allow the brand to embrace not only product but the people, places and partners that make each property story authentic and special.

We curated a collective of likeminded creative talent, including London based photographer Taran Wilku. With his impeccable eye and editorial style, Taran balanced the purity of shape, light and proportionality found in the interiors, with a meticulous attention to detail, craftmanship and character.

Illustrator, Lukas Novotny, was commissioned to create a timeless collection of facades, visualising the link between concept and construction. Warmer than a render and in the absence of a completed building, these beautiful facades will play an intrinsic role in sharing Vabel's vision for upcoming properties.

Places People Live,
Places People Love.

Making This House a Home.

From signage to site hoardings, community journals to a total website transformation – the same sense of life, character and sheer vibrance – that sense of home, was translated across every brand touchpoint.

A brand's website offers a window into your world. It's a living manifestation of your brand. Your digital home. In Vabel's case, we needed to 'Make This House A Home'. It meant layering in the same sense of quality, character and life found in their physical homes. The site needed to be inviting, easy to explore but inspiring enough to encourage people to view the property and ultimately live the brand.

We translated our design language across every image, word, drawing and page. A total transformation, creating content reflective of where Vabel had come from, where they are today, but adaptable enough to provide the foundations for where they're heading.

Beautifully crafted, carefully curated, the new website blends function and feeling. Going beyond the beautifully designed product, it celebrates the people, places and partners that make each and every property story so special, to bring the brand and lifestyle alive.

From First Site Visit,
To When’s The House Warming.

Touchpoints

Recognised with two awards at The Evening Standard’s 2022 New Home Awards, the brand is realising the vision to raise the standard of new build homes and how they’re conceptualised, designed, built and lived-in.