In London, it is considered a vital life-skill to be able to judge the character of a pub from a quick glance at the exterior of the building. The role of the pub sign is to capture the personality of the pub it represents and communicate it in an instant. A pub sign operates a little like the label on a bottle of beer. It should be noticeable, it should be appealing, but it should also tell a story, reflecting the spirit and the soul of what’s inside.

Every Young’s pub has its own story as well as its own unique character. Our brief was to capture this by creating a range of pub signs that evoked the individuality and story of each pub.

Before we could begin, we had to get under the skin of every Young’s pub to discover what made it distinctive. The Castle pub for instance, used to have a theatre in the basement. So we used some stage lights to light up the ‘C’, rather than relying on a tired, traditional Castle image. The Albion sign in Fleet Street was created using lino cutting to reflect the area’s past in print and publishing.

By approaching each sign with a craft as unique as the story it would tell, we were able to design bespoke signs that were unconventional and idiosyncratic, as well as refreshingly modern. Just like the pubs themselves.

The new identity was applied across hotels, interior, exterior signage, pub swing signs as well as on the website and printed items such as menus and leaflets.

The story of each pub sign has also been told within the pub itself, with framed artwork explaining the inspiration behind the design and why it is unique to the pub.

“The results speak for themselves: our managers, staff and customers have all been hugely impressed with how bright and fresh the signs are, and are thrilled with the heritage and story that they evoke for the pubs. The agency has enabled us to create a design thread that links all the pubs to our brand, but at the same time tells a powerful and unique story for each building and location.” Gillian McLaren, Head of Marketing, Young’s & Co Brewery