We’ve been working alongside The City Rooms – the Leicester based weddings, conferences and events venue for several years, and as a result of our work we’ve been brought onboard to develop the branding for their new venture, Winstanley House.
The team behind Winstanley has a successful background in rejuvenating buildings of historical significance, and their latest project is their most ambitious yet. The multimillion-pound renovation has transformed the Grade II listed venue into a 19 room luxury boutique hotel, two magnificent ballrooms and a home to the contemporary British restaurant and steakhouse Black Iron.
Winstanley House has been open a few short months (officially opening its doors in October 2017) but has already built up an enviable reputation as a premium luxury destination. Arch Creative have been involved with the venue since its inception, creating the branding for both the venue and Black Iron restaurant, designing the website and all other associated marketing collateral including signage, brochures and menus.
The mythical symbol of the griffin was chosen to be used as Winstanley’s marque. This amalgamation of the lion and eagle gives a strong heraldic image and is used within the crest of the Winstanley family.
Arch’s illustrators created the griffin in pen and ink, giving a completely unique brand identity. When coupled with classic typography and precious metal colours, this image gives a sophisticated look and feel.
The turnaround on Winstanley House has been some achievement. Starting with a derelict building – Braunstone Hall in Braunstone Park – the City Rooms team have converted the space into one of Leicester’s premier venues.
Winstanley House hasn’t just been recognised by hordes of customers – they’ve also picked up the 2017 Restoration Award from Leicester Civic Society. The awards recognise work in restoring historic buildings, and in adding new buildings to Leicester’s historic environment. Winstanley House does both – restoring an aged building and adding to its architecture with a newly developed entrance hall and function rooms.
To top off a fantastic year in 2017, The City Rooms website won Best Website at the Leicestershire Promotions 2017 Hospitality & Tourism Awards. For Arch, this achievement was particularly special, having originally designed the site.
As a final nod to the achievements of the team behind City Rooms and Winstanley House, the latter recently featured in The Telegraph’s Travel Destinations section. The hotel and restaurant secured an admirable 8/10 ranking, making it one of the most highly ranked venues in the county.
We visited Winstanley House and Black Iron to get some photography of the branding we’ve put in place, and some stills for the 2018 Christmas Brochure. It’s never too early to plan ahead!
“The team at Arch Creative have been instrumental in building both the Winstanley House and Black Iron brands. From the start, Arch have been hands-on, responsive and creative. They understand the way our marketing and advertising campaigns should work at Winstanley House, and have the expertise to implement their ideas. We couldn’t ask for a better full-service design agency!”
Amy Faherty
Events and Sales Manager
Winstanley House
