Case Study – A Brand Refresh for Fraserburgh Harbour:
I recently worked with Fraserburgh Harbour to refresh its brand and modernise its website to attract visitors and allow smoother navigation.
This article discusses how I developed a new brand to support Fraserburgh Harbour’s business goals.
Background on Fraserburgh Harbour
Fraserburgh Harbour has a long history dating back to the early 16th century. The harbour, which works closely with the Fraserburgh community, is a board-run business with a small team of employees. Its services range from fishing to commercial to vessel repair. The harbour added an offshore renewables service a few years ago.
The fishing industry and the town of Fraserburgh have been closely linked for a long time. Despite being purchased by Sir William Fraser, 6th Laird of Philorth, in the 16th century, the South Pier was only constructed in the early 19th century. Between the early 2000s, a new fish market, a dry dock devoted to Queen Elizabeth II and a six-berth ship lift were built.
Today, Fraserburgh is the chosen port by the Moray East Offshore Windfarm. The harbour also developed a Masterplan to construct a more innovative and enhanced harbour for the 21st century. The new development requires an updated port and a modernised brand and website to align with the changes and goals.
The brand refresh brief
Fraserburgh Harbour had an aged brand and needed a partner to bring new energy to the brand’s look and feel. The team also wanted to refresh the website, as it needed to be updated and easier to navigate.
The team wanted something new and was open to completely changing the old brand, which no longer aligned with their current goals. Yet, they were cautious to avoid shocking their long-term clients and the Fraserburgh community. The harbour’s key stakeholders had grown familiar with the harbour and its brand for decades. As outlined in its Masterplan, the harbour wanted to grow, bringing positive economic impact to the community.
One of the main challenges was that Fraserburgh Harbour appeals to many target audiences due to its diverse service offering. Furthermore, the new brand had to be signed off by the team and its twelve commissioners involved in the decision-making process for the harbour.
What I did to refresh the brand
Fraserburgh Harbour wanted an experienced Branding Consultant who could tackle the existing challenges of its brand. That’s where I came in to support the development of the harbour’s new brand identity and drive more consistency across all its media. I teamed up with a web development company to bring the website I designed to life.
After the initial meeting with Fraserburgh Harbour’s team, we decided to start developing a new brand, get that signed off by the commissioners, and then update the website.
The Fraserburgh Harbour logo
For the look and feel of the new brand, I considered identifiers such as “inspirational”, “bright”, “diverse”, and “collaborative”.
The pictorial mark of the logo interconnects four ropes with a safe space in the middle, as Fraserburgh Harbour is safe for vessels and their owners. The vessels are tied with ropes to the quay. Each rope of the pictorial mark is wavy to remind the audience of marine life and also has a forward spinning motion relating to wind turbines and the forward-thinking company value. All four ropes are interconnected, symbolising its strong connection to the Fraserburgh community and its collaboration with marine experts and their clients.
The primary colours within the logo stand for the four main services of the harbour:
- Fishing
- Commercial
- Offshore Renewables
- Vessel Repair
I chose the word mark to convey a modern look and feel with a strong and stable appearance. The font has rounded parts to connect to the brand’s human side. I used a mix of upper and lower-case letters, supporting the idea that Fraserburgh Harbour is a “People’s Port”.
Icon development
The team at Fraserburgh Harbour wanted to focus on its four services and ensure they stand out to clients and stakeholders. I created a distinctive icon for each service, accompanied by a specific colour and style. The icon style follows the modern look of the logo.
Brand guidelines
I created brand guidelines for Fraserburgh Harbour’s new identity. These guidelines outline everything about its new logo and brand. It includes the usage of the logo, corporate colour palette, corporate typefaces, and brand images and icons. Generally, brand guidelines are key to ensuring brand consistency for internal and external stakeholders. In Fraserburgh Harbour’s case, they especially needed to guide local printing and production companies for branded clothing and marketing material.
The Fraserburgh Harbour website
The website needed a complete refresh to attract prospects and implement the critical elements of the new brand identity. Working with a web developer, we modified the site navigation and menu to make it easier for site visitors to move around the website. Fraserburgh Harbour wanted a straightforward website to catch the viewers’ attention and guide them to the appropriate information.
We agreed on a minimalistic header using a hamburger dropdown menu. The home page now attracts the viewer with a video in the header followed by a display of the key services. The website aimed to showcase Fraserburgh Harbour’s new Masterplan, which includes the harbour expansion. So, we incorporated a redesign of the harbour map highlighting the planned extension.
Part of our brand refresh strategy was to drive an authentic interaction with the harbour’s clients and stakeholders. So, we avoided using stock images on the website. Instead, we hired a professional photographer to take photos of the employees of Fraserburgh Harbour, the vessels and the harbour. These photos appear throughout the new website and are a testament to the community feel and genuine experiences of the harbour’s internal and external stakeholders.
Outcomes: The Fraserburgh Harbour refresh
The Fraserburgh Harbour team and commissioners were delighted with the brand and website as it embodied what they wanted for their business, clients and community. I supported them with social media graphics for the brand launch. The initial reaction from their audience on social media has been very positive!
Fraserburgh Harbour expects to continue to work on engaging with its existing and new audiences on social media, at events and on the website. With renewed confidence and pride in their brand growth, the team is likelier to share news about Fraserburgh Harbour and share the website and company social pages. Also, the Fraserburgh community can be even more proud of the stunning harbour at their doorstep!
You can find more information about Fraserburgh Harbour on their new website: https://fraserburgh-harbour.co.uk/
Anja created a new brand for Fraserburgh Harbour and whilst also working on the design for our new website. While being consummately professional, Anja also took with her a fresh view and perspective. She created something with a unique, modern and ‘human’ feel, spending time with us to understand our traditional, yet modern and diverse business and the concomitantly large number of stakeholders we needed to connect with. It felt quite risky at the start, but we knew it was needed and Anja collaborated with us in a way that really supported the team throughout the process.
Pamela Neri, Commercial Manager at Fraserburgh Harbour
Interested in exploring new markets, or do you still need to refresh your brand following a period of significant change?
If you’d like to explore what a brand refresh can do for your business, contact me for an informal chat by emailing mail@anjapeter.com. I’d be happy to help!