COLORWAVES

The founder came to Graphcent with a business that would span interiors, paint and architectural design, and no name yet. We started with the name. Then we gave it an identity that means something: one wave of paint that becomes a W, in every colour of the rainbow.

Client

ColorWaves

The brief

A founder starting a company that does three things most businesses keep apart: interiors, paint and architectural design. Before anything visual, she needed a name that could hold all three, be easy to say and remember, and leave room to grow.

The approach

We explored names around what the business really sells: colour, and the change it brings to a space. ColorWaves stuck: colour in motion. Everything else grew out of the name. The wave became a W, the W became a rainbow of paint, and the rainbow became a palette, a voice and a family of three sub-brands.

Scope

01NamingName exploration for a business spanning interiors, paint and architectural design, ending at ColorWaves.
02LogomarkA single wave that forms the letter W, painted in six ribbons of colour.
03Logo systemHorizontal and vertical logos and the mark on its own, in black and white versions, with clear space rules.
04Colour & typeFifteen colours in three groups, Maven Pro for the logotype and Inter for everything else.
05Voice & architectureA tagline, tone of voice, key messages and three sub-brands under one roof.
06Guide & applicationsA 46-page identity guide, and the brand on stationery, merchandise, product labels, campaigns, signage and vehicles.

1

Name

6

Ribbons in the mark

15

Brand colours

3

Sub-brands

01 The name

FIRST, A NAME
WORTH BUILDING ON.

The business had no name when the founder reached out, so that is where we started. The name had to cover paint, interiors and design, and still sound like one company.

Color

What the business sells: paint, and the colour every space starts from.

Waves

Movement: paint flowing across a wall, and a change that spreads through a room.

ColorWaves

Colour in motion. One name that holds interiors, paint and design, with a tagline to match: Transforming Spaces, Inspiring Lives.

02 The mark

ONE WAVE
BECOMES A W.

The name drew the mark: a single wave that forms the letter W, the flow of paint and the brand’s initial in one shape. Each ribbon is a different colour, for creativity, diversity and the range ColorWaves offers.

03 Logo system

THREE WAYS
TO SIGN.

Choose a version, then see it on Cloud White and on Midnight Plum.

04 Colour

FIFTEEN COLOURS,
ONE RAINBOW.

The rainbow leads, warm secondaries play around it, and calm neutrals keep it professional. Tap a colour to copy it.

Primary

The rainbow: the core of the brand, one colour per ribbon family.

Secondary

Warmth and play around the primaries.

Neutral

A calm base that lets the colour do the talking.

05 Typography

TWO TYPEFACES,
CLEAR JOBS.

Maven Pro, with its smooth curves, sets the name and echoes the wave. Inter carries everything else: headlines, body copy and the small print. Type something to try them.

Your words

Maven Pro · Logotype

Inter · Everything else

06 Voice & family

ONE BRAND,
THREE SPECIALISTS.

Friendly, engaging and inspiring, with vivid language that brings colour to life. Under the ColorWaves name sit three sub-brands, one for each thing the business does.

“Transforming Spaces, Inspiring Lives.”