Let's talk

Reimagining the brand for a centuries-old inn.

The George Branding, Website

Designeering created the visual branding and website design for The George, a former 16th-century inn, refurbished as a restaurant, bar and boutique hotel. The branding combines contemporary style with a traditional twist.

A restauranteur with a taste for a new project

We had been working with our client, Stephen Fitzpatrick, for a number of years and had created marketing materials for his two restaurants.

Stephen later decided to sell one of those restaurants and purchase The George, a former 16th-century inn in South Leicestershire. His intention was to refurbish the property and reopen it as a contemporary British restaurant, bar and boutique hotel.

The building needed a complete overhaul, with major building work throughout and a new interior design scheme. This would be complemented by a new visual brand and WordPress website and, for this, Stephen requested our services once again.

An ambitious renovation

The George had previously been run as a pub with three letting rooms. It had a good reputation for reasonably priced food, but was known for serving pub Thai dishes and curries rather than quality British cuisine.

When our client purchased the property, he had a clear vision that could only be achieved by making substantial changes. This involved a total refit of the ground floor restaurant and bar area, and the first floor accommodation.

The restaurant was extended to the rear, with bi-folding doors that opened onto a large patio and landscaped garden. And the accommodation was upgraded to an eight-room boutique hotel.

The new open-plan restaurant was to serve contemporary British cuisine made with locally-sourced produce. And there would be a traditional village bar area for relaxed drinking and socialising.

To accompany our client’s ambitious plans, the establishment needed a whole new identity that would signal the change of ownership and mark the significant change in direction. The branding needed to match the quality and style of the refit.

Contemporary branding with a traditional twist

The original outdoor sign was typical for a traditional British pub. It used a classic typeface and an illustration of King George.

The new branding needed to be much more modern, but with an acknowledgement of the establishment’s former heritage.

We created a series of statements to give the branding a clear direction. Our statements talked about creating a sense of being relaxed, informal and comfortable. And following a style that was contemporary and eclectic, with a traditional twist.

Designeering approached the branding with an initial research stage, to see what other, similar restaurants were doing. We looked at the various items that the refurbished George might need. These included signage, room key tags, bedding cards, table menus, stationery and even bespoke wine labels.

This was followed by the brand development stage, where we created a series of logos and branding concepts. We showed how the branding could be implemented across each of the items from the research.

Project realisation and ongoing development

At the end of the project, Designeering delivered a full visual branding package including the logo, stationery, internal and external signage, frosted vinyls for the windows and luxury key fobs for the rooms.

We also designed and developed a fully branded WordPress website with online reservations and room booking capabilities.

Our collaboration with The George has continued since its opening in 2018 and we now provide ongoing brand guardianship. So far, this has included the design and litho printing of gift vouchers, marketing flyers, table talkers and Christmas menus. We have also undertaken regular website amends as they’ve been required.

Most recently, we redesigned the wine menu. Normally, this would be printed and finished with soft-touch laminate. However, with the Covid rules in place, the menus needed to be sanitised regularly, which could have damaged the edges of a laminated paper menu. Instead, we advised the use of Agfa Syntax. This is a plastic paper that’s suitable for wet wiping and which wouldn’t be damaged.

In 2019, we also built a new WordPress website for sister restaurant, The Joiners, in Bruntingthorpe. For this, we adapted the website template we’d created for The George and applied The Joiners branding to it. This gave a consistent user feel, while still highlighting each restaurant’s unique qualities.

What the client says

We have been working with Designeering for 10 years. During this time, Sébastien has been instrumental in helping us to grow three restaurants. The team have created elegant branding and modern web designs to bring our image up to date.

In 2016/17, Designeering helped with the design and branding of The George, Great Oxendon. Sébastien was always on hand to share his advice and tips to fulfil a positive delivery of our message, both in-house and via our social media platforms.

We’ve worked with Designeering for so long because they consistently deliver on their promises and our goals. And they have a great understanding of our product and target market.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Restauranteur and Owner of The George

Does your business need a new image?

Whether you’re creating a new brand from scratch, or your existing brand needs a refresh, Designeering can help. With more than 25 years’ expertise in graphic design and visual branding, we can elevate your visual branding with a timeless, professional look.

If you’d like an initial consultation to discuss your ideas and see if we can work together, please email us with your availability.