Client

William Morris London

Our Expertise

Photography
Art Direction
Litho Print
Large Format Print

Project Summary

William Morris London are an award winning, independent, UK-based eyewear company passionate about two things: elegant and original eyewear and exemplary customer service.

Created in 1996 by Robert Morris and marketed at both opticians and directly to consumers, this very British brand has continually evolved from a hard-working family business to the successful global brand of today.

Each individual eyewear design is created with love, pride and a matching level of hard work, dedication and personal service that each member of the William Morris London team strive to give their customers on a daily basis.

To bring their iconic story to life and further grow the global presence of their brand, Douglas were commissioned to art direct and photograph their Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter London and Black Label campaigns.

Our Approach

The process began with a deep dive into the core values of the William Morris London brand. What is immediately distinct about the company is that, despite unprecedented global growth, the philosophy and brand attributes of the business remain as strong as they were when the business started many years ago. In a corporate saturated world, it’s the ‘family’ values, heritage of the brand and sheer quality of their product that have set them apart from the competition and it is what their customers have come to truly appreciate.

Furthermore, their eyewear features classic yet innovative designs using different models and materials, which easily set them apart from the competition to give them an edgy look and feel, distinctive to their brand.

Almost immediately we knew we wanted the campaign approach to feel very different to the cookie-cutter style, slick, studio headshots that are now so often used by other premium eyewear brands. To allow William Morris London to stand out from the crowd the way their product stands out on the shelf.

The creative team at Douglas set about working up a series of mood boards, which collaboratively evolved into a raw, edgy and powerful campaign; which took inspiration from the grunge fashion movement of the early 90s and provided the perfect theme to inspire and connect with William Morris London customers.

On Location

To best fit with the theme of the campaign brief we wanted to choose an industrial location in William Morris London’s namesake town – London – that oozed natural charm and character, featured a plethora of quirky and innovative features and most importantly retained an abundance of beautiful, natural light.

Featuring a number of wonderfully textured walls, exposed brickwork and even its own original, indoor Victorian street, our trendy East London warehouse was the perfect inspirational backdrop to best showcase the modern new London and Black Label designs of the William Morris brand.

Warm lighting, contemporary silhouettes and urban styling helped to successfully capture the raw spirit of the campaign, whilst at all times retaining the heritage and quality of the brand. Shot over one very long day, selected images were eventually rolled-out across print and digital channels.