Testing all possibilities to end up with something brilliant

When I began working with Shearings, the brief was fairly open. As mentioned, their target market was changing and broadening - so they needed something different, simple and stylish. Their old identity was felt to be too 'fussy' and had aged somewhat. Refining the master Shearings palette to a bright brand blue and golden yellow was the first step.

Together, we experimented with changing the main coach colour to said golden yellow (which looked great!) but actually decided it was a step too far and would risk alienating existing loyal customers a little too much.

The simple addition of the clean white 'swoosh' lines created some movement and enhanced the existing lines of the Mercedes Tourismo coach itself, giving the modern design style a little more impact. We dropped the 'holidays' part of the name and emphasised their new 'escorted tour' packages, giving customers more choice, more destinations and better value - and pushed internet bookings through the use of a '.com' after the brand name.

It might not seem like a big change for the Shearings brand, but to step away from a traditional design which appealed to an older eye, into an appearance that is more youthful and mass-market, was a brave step. Thanks to Sam Jessup Design, it was made a lot easier, and delivered in a style like no other too.