A legend returns

Challenge

Favre-Leuba ranks among the oldest watch brands in the world. Since its founding year 1737 the pioneering spirit of the originally Swiss family business and its watches is legendary.

Conquering new territory, exceeding limits in an physical and spiritual sense is – with breaks – part of the essential core of the brand. This turned out well with the first, waterproof watch for deep sea dives – the „Bathy“. The „Bivouac“, the first mechanical watch with an aneroid barometer to measure level and pressure completed its baptism by fire during the first antarctic-expedition of Paul-Emile Victor.

Real sensations, driven by the pleasure to embark on new paths. This „conquering frontiers“ should receive a new interpretation and position the brand after lengthy market absense and repeated ownership changes again duly on the international watch market.

Target

The main focus of the task was to develop an authentic, surpringingly different brand appearance for the Asiatic, Indian and European market. This should indirectly also do justice to the long tradition and great importance of Favre-Leuba within the Swiss watch industry.

The watch should be positioned as an indispensable „friend“ on the wrist and to act 100% relevant to present times and also future oriented. An active, dynamic brand with highly functional, yet simply applicable instruments for adventures of all kinds.

The brand Favre-Leuba stands for a mindset to consider limits as chances, to find new ways (either in water, in mid air, on land, but also in one`s spirit) in order to actively shape live by oneself. The watches are timeless icons and pioneers at the zenith of the actual time in function, technics and aesthetics.

The already existing brand characteristics (highly functional, iconic, groundbreaking) should receive a revitalization along with the new brand values. The new claim „Conquering Frontiers“ perfectly expresses this mindset.

During 2015 to 2016 the task of the agency MARKUS KERKER was to make this target perceptible and comprehensible in all facets of the brand appearance to be formed newly.

Results

CORPORATE DESIGN

Revision of the existing word-and-design mark. The colour grey stands for the seriosity and credibility of a historical brand and its technical claim. The 4 active secondary colours (developed according to the Lüscher colour concept) stand for the entirety and dynamic future orientation. This mindset is transported by means of stationary, envelopes, business cards, as well as office-templates, including E-Mail signature since the beginning of February.

Separate development of a word-and-design mark for the claim "Conquering Frontiers".

The extracted, new brand DNA consists of a few, yet iconic design elements such as hourglass, 4-colour-concept,
tetradecagon, bridge, form of hands and indices. They are being used independently from each other in new functions for the brand and ensure high recognizability and individuality. The tetradecagon was thus taken up for the packaging and newly interpreted. According to the motto „Conquering Frontiers“.

WEB-DESIGN

Website Phase 1. Intro-Website

Development of a modern imagery without making use of luxury watch-brand cliche, building  up of tension in both image and sound, guiding the view towards tradition and the future of the brand – but not yet unveiling the claim „Conquering Frontiers“.

Website Phase 2

The protagonists of the second phase of website creation were the watch-legends "Bathy, Bivouac, Deep Blue and Sea Chief". They represent themselves mainly by their unique bezels and thus open the door into a new future for Favre-Leuba.
Instead of communicating the claim „Conquering Frontiers“ via the dial this gets transferred by imagery here.
Visual, internationally valid metaphers were shown representing the instant of both the mental and physical conquering of frontiers. This graphical concept served as the basis for a further, successful expansion in several steps – in line with the worldwide relaunch schedule.

Conquering Frontiers Website

The new claim „Conquering Frontiers“ was first built up on various Social Media channels, independently from the watch brand. The aim of the website was to build a simple and linking bridge via all Social Media activities (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) and to revive the heart of the brand, the claim, in an innovative and contemporary way. Concept as well as graphics thus clearly refer to the Favre-Leuba main site in imagery, typography and colour, yet appear in its target group addressing more youthful and dynamic. With regard to the interpretations on the topic of mental, intellectual and physical limits to be expected we saw a vivid, (inter)active brand that exceeded its own limits before the launch already.

PRODUCT DESIGN

The basis for the design of the new watch collection was formed by historical DNA-characteristics that were filtered and abstracted again and again until a modern, dynamic watch face with high individuality and recognizability arose.

Special emphasis was put on the side view of the watch. With the „Bridge“ we even succeeded to create the Favre-Leuba character even more clearly and distinctively. A bridge into the future. 

This design element is so prominent and essential that is was even integrated in the POS-displays and Shop-in-Shop modules.

A clear design language helps the new watch collection to step out of the shadows from the past into the open of the
21^st century. 

You will explicitly recognize a Favre-Leuba watch by its

• "Tetradecagon"
• case design with its tectonic structure
• form of the watch hands
• indices

The design vocabulary of these „new“ watch legends are sworn to the past in their genius, but come in a new interpretation and thus provide an easy and intuitive handling concerning functionality and innovation in each single situation. The companion on the wrist, helping to conquer frontiers

RAIDER COLLECTION                                    

Iconic design based on legendary ancestors
With their user-friendly functionality, remarkable and unique design they perfectly line up with the legendary FL watches.

CHIEF COLLECTION

Especially developed it bears the potential of a classic watch legend. With its marked style, a contemporary interpretation of the past, perfect in its reduced, pragmatic and technically inspired stylistic idiom.

PRODUCT CATALOGUE

It unconditionally and expressively conveys brand values such as endurance, credibility and inventiveness into the 21st century. For the softlaunch in Japan 2016 a product catalogue (print and online) was created in English, French, Japanese and German, perfectly reflecting the brand- and product image in both form and language.