Max Fordham’s 50th

Most of our clients choose to continue to work with us for years after we’ve done the initial rebrand. For Max Fordham’s 50th anniversary we designed a special celebratory logo, a book of Max-ims (wise engineering words from the founder) and a coffee table book of the story of Tate Modern’s new extension, Tate 2, the Switch House.

As part of the initial rebrand in 2009 we introduced acclaimed photographer, Julian Anderson, to be photographer-in-residence for Max Fordham to record and celebrate their ‘beautiful engineering’. Often Max Fordham’s interventions to how a building works efficiently and sustainably will go unnoticed as they’ll be hidden behind walls or buried in concrete. So over the course of seven years, Julian returned time and again to capture and celebrate their work.

Our role as brand guardians is always to ensure a brand remains relevant, remains fresh and to keep it on track. We’re lucky to work with clients at Max Fordham who agree with our own philosophy that brands are built over many years and many projects. They know that having a clearly defined and bold brand which is communicated consistently will reap rewards for the business. Read the full award-winning rebrand story here.

The book was a huge success and celebrated at their 50th anniversary party at Tate 2 (where else?).

What we did

Working as long-term brand guardians for Max Fordham, we designed a special celebratory logo for their 50th anniversary, created a book of Max-ims — a collection of wise engineering words from the firm’s founder — and produced a coffee table book documenting the story of Tate Modern’s new Switch House extension. We also introduced acclaimed photographer Julian Anderson as photographer-in-residence, commissioning him to capture and celebrate Max Fordham’s beautiful engineering over a seven-year period. This sustained creative partnership ensured the brand remained fresh, consistent, and compelling throughout.