The Ice Factory
Once the heart of Britain’s industrious fishing industry, the historic Grimsby Ice Factory stood as a monument to innovation and resilience. Now, after decades of dormancy, it is set to be reborn as a world-leading centre for sustainable energy research.
Client
GY1900 Ltd
Year
2025
Category
Property
Commercial
Type of Work
Brand Creation
Copy
Photography
CGI
CGI Animation
Brochure Design
Signage Design
Floor Plans
Site Plans
Our task was to build a brand that honoured this legacy while aligning with the project's mission to lead innovation in the green energy sector. The result is a flexible, industrial-inspired identity system that reflects the scale, substance, and ambition of the development — both visually and strategically.
The Ice Factory’s revival wasn’t just about restoration, it was about redefinition. Working alongside our visionary client, we were challenged to create a brand that could scale across a 20-acre, multi-building commercial scheme while staying rooted in its unique context.
The identity needed to resonate with two distinct audiences; Global players in the offshore wind and sustainable energy space and local businesses invested in Grimsby’s future.
Our approach had to connect them both through a shared narrative of progress, transformation, and place.
The Brand Idea: Power in Conversion
Inspired by the universal symbol for energy conversion, the brand mark represents the project’s core purpose: transforming industrial heritage into a force for sustainable progress. It’s a subtle nod to both engineering and evolution, a signal to energy sector professionals that this is a site built for forward motion.
Paired with a confident, modular wordmark and typography system, the visual identity is both robust and adaptable, designed to flex across digital, physical and environmental applications.
With multiple zones and a vast site footprint, we developed a branded house system — allowing each building or space to carry its own identity while staying connected to the core brand. This ensures recognisability across the campus while giving tenants a sense of ownership and distinction.
The colour palette draws directly from the local context: steel blues, rust tones, and heritage greens echo Grimsby’s docks, fishing history, and industrial textures, grounding the brand in the landscape while allowing for clean, modern expression.