Saigon’s new district one

A 15-hectare site on the banks of the Saigon River is set to shift the epi-centre of Ho Chi Minh into the future. Empire City is a masterpiece in the Thu Thiem regeneration programme and this iconic mixed-use development promises to transform the live, work, play, eat, shop, stay, lifestyle of Vietnam’s next generation downtown.

Taking inspiration from the name, we crafted a big-city attitude for the brand. Combining movement and action with a sense of sophistication, the visual expression of the brand signalled the energy and style of a bustling metropolis. A simple messaging system was designed using short English verbs to give the brand a clear and confident voice.

Beyond advertising, billboards and hoardings, the sales gallery provided an opportunity to showcase the brand personality in a non-conventional way. We explored how entry points could introduce the brand in big-city style. And working within the interior design direction for the sales gallery, we considered how subtle iconography could complement the sophistication of the physical environment.

Every city in the world has its icons. Some have defining products that form desirable souvenirs for visitors. We saw an opportunity to further differentiate the brand and to tell the Empire City story through a range of merchandise. Curated on two value tiers of exclusive premium gifts and more everyday items, the brand merchandise was designed for broad appeal and to personally promote the Empire City lifestyle.

A sense of place where the story of a seamlessly convenient and sophisticated lifestyle is confidently told with a big-city attitude and brought to life in style.

Continuing our journey in helping to build the Empire City brand, Sedgwick Richardson was commissioned to create a bi-lingual newsletter for an expanding community of existing and potential buyers, business partners, industry media and investors. The ECY newsletter’s content strategy was designed to build a sense of place through inspiring information on architecture & interiors, news of activities and events and updates on construction progress. Our task was made a little lighter with the announcement of Büro Ole Scheeren’s stunning architecture for the Empire 88 Tower. This inspiring ‘sky forest’ design helped define both the editorial direction and our cover story: ‘City of Inspiration’.

We audited the existing website and relevant content and resources, identifying content that needs to be retained, created and repackaged.

We then developed an updated website structure in the form of a site map. The information hierarchy and structure of the new site was defined through the creation of wireframe templates and supporting new copy was crafted for the website based on the existing brand language style and tonality.

A front-end design was then created for homepage and inner page layouts in the form of a responsive solution and a basic style guide was then created to brief the back end development team and to facilitate the accurate and timely build.

Following the successful launch of Linden and Tilia residences, we were tasked with creating a marketing brochure for the Cove Residences, the latest and most exclusive residential development within Empire City.