David Lowrie
Brand strategy, narrative development & identity direction
Context
David Lowrie is a family-run fish merchant based in Fife, supplying both local customers and high-end restaurant clients, including Michelin-starred establishments. As the business grew in visibility and demand, it became clear the brand wasn’t keeping up. What started as a request for a new logo quickly revealed a broader need for clarity, cohesion, and direction across the entire brand.
The Challenge
The issue wasn’t simply visual — it was a lack of alignment between who the business was and how it showed up.
There was a disconnect between the brand on display and the level of craft delivered day-to-day. Despite a strong reputation and deep heritage, the brand felt outdated and fragmented, masking the quality and credibility the business had built over time.
Two key tensions sat at the heart of the challenge:
Evolving the brand without losing its traditional roots
Communicating effectively to both local customers and premium restaurant clients
Strategic problem:
How can the brand better reflect the quality, heritage, and scale of the business — while remaining trusted, recognisable, and relevant across a diverse audience?
Discovery & Insight
Through stakeholder conversations, customer understanding, and category observation, a clearer picture emerged.
The business had strong generational roots, which were central to its credibility
Its audience spanned everyday local customers to Michelin-starred restaurants
The category leaned heavily on functional, traditional branding with little differentiation
At the same time, the brand was sitting on rich, underutilised storytelling — but lacked the structure and clarity to express it.
Key Insight
This wasn’t a design problem — it was a clarity problem.
The business already had the substance; the brand simply wasn’t communicating it. The opportunity was to create the connective tissue between craft, story, and expression, bringing everything into a cohesive and recognisable system.
Strategic Direction
The strategy focused on repositioning David Lowrie as a brand that is:
Rooted in tradition, but relevant in the present
Confident in its craft and heritage
Consistent, recognisable, and built for visibility
Rather than treating branding as a set of outputs, the focus shifted to building a cohesive system that could operate across all touch points — from local interactions to high-end clients.
A key priority was ensuring the brand could credibly stretch across both ends of its audience, without compromising either.
Execution & Translation
This strategic thinking directly informed how the brand was brought to life.
High-frequency touch points became central to the approach. Packaging, vans, and merchandise weren’t treated as secondary — they were everyday brand carriers, seen and used constantly across the UK.
A custom illustrated lobster mark created a distinctive and own-able visual asset, signalling craft and quality
Packaging and delivery materials were designed to act as consistent, visible expressions of the brand in real-world use
Visual and verbal elements were aligned to ensure clarity and recognition at every interaction
Every decision was made through a strategic lens:
Does this reflect the level of the business?
Does it communicate quality instantly?
Does it create consistency across audiences and touch points?
Outcome
The result was more than a visual update — it was a shift in how the business was experienced and perceived.
Increased visibility and engagement, both in-person and online
Customers actively sharing branded interactions and packaging
A stronger internal sense of clarity and confidence
Improved perception across both local and premium audiences
