Whitman Emorson’s editorial identity for ENSEMBL sets them apart from their ‘stodgy’ competition

ENSEMBL are on a mission to provide premium kitchenware that is both functional and aesthetically-pleasing, creating a brand built to counter over-consumption and our disposition for disposal – with product lines designed to optimise available kitchen space. Needing an identity to match their mission, drive and aesthetic awareness, ENSEMBL turned to Whitman Emorson to take on the task.

The Toronto-based design studio worked comprehensively across ENSEMBL’s brand, from its editorial strategy and brand positioning to visual identity and art direction. Reflecting the eclectic nature and humourful sophistication of the brand, Whitman Emorson have created a kitchenware brand unlike any other, cementing it on its own within the marketplace.

Crafting a typographic-led identity, Whitman Emorson found an aesthetic strength through a dream-team of typefaces, utilising Klim Type Foundry’s Söhne Fett for the wordmark, and making use of Displaay Type Foundry’s Reckless and Matter as their supportive editorial type choices. Reconstructing the strokes of the ‘N’ and ‘M’ within Söhne to create a bespoke wordmark, Whitman Emorson designer Laura Soper explains “this reimagining of the familiar, reflected in the bespoke logo, is seen across ENSEMBL’s innovative product design approach,” especially with the stylistically antithetical supporting typefaces.

“The brand has a POV it wants to share,” Soper explains, finding a “timeless and stylish” presence within Reckless’ editorial construction and delivery of their brand vision. “Matter is the workhorse,” Soper adds, “functional but still beautiful and thoughtful, with a warmth and authenticity.” The resulting combination not only provides the flexibility ENSEMBL required, but is also avoidant of any ‘stodgy’ aesthetic tropes associated with kitchenware – instead producing a characterful and memorable brand.

Correspondingly Whitman Emorson also opted for a monochromatic colour palette, providing a strong, reserved foundation for which the art direction can bounce off of, bringing a further vibrancy to the brand. “The focus is placed on the spirit, energy and ideas that drive the brand,” Creative Director Berkeley Poole adds, in discussing the limited colour palette, “punctuated by photography that celebrates the products with moments of quirk and charm.”

Whitman Emorson

ENSEMBL