Playgroup | Creativity through play

Playgroup creates a vibrant environment

05 Dec 2008

Playgroup were appointed to bring Unilever’s brand values to life in their new 19,000 square metre UK headquarters in Leatherhead, Surrey. The brief was to engage customers (retailers), suppliers and employees; and create an environment that staff would enjoy and could be proud of. Above all the building needed to express the real pride and passion that Unilever have in what they do, and needed to feel ‘down to earth’, ‘real’, ‘everyday’, ‘energetic’ and ‘vibrant’. 

The overall look and feel of the building is a neutral/fresh back drop with soft white desking brought to life with splashes of colour – for example in vend areas, partition screening and through loose furnishings. Colour, vibrancy and buzz is brought into the space through an overt expression of Unilever’s brands, customers, consumers and heritage. Giant images of bouncing babies, huge jars of Marmite and towering deodorant sticks combine with energising copylines to give a rich tapestry of life at Unilever. This is demonstrated perfectly in the atrium, where a 12m high mosaic wraps the central lift core with 184 images and the supporting message ‘We are Unilever’. This visual language connects the entire building and is manifested in; meeting rooms, open-plan office spaces, break out spaces, print and copy hubs, the restaurant, the bar and a professional demonstration kitchen. Visitors are ushered to one of 17 individually branded meeting suites that demonstrate the company’s heritage through some iconic brands. 

Playgroup also undertook all of the wayfinding signage and assisted in the naming and branding of certain areas of the building. 

Key facts 

• Representation of all key brands including: PG Tips, Sure, Lynx, Flora, Wall’s, Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Vaseline, Persil, Comfort, Knorr, Marmite and many more 

• 285 individual pieces of artwork designed and produced 

• 1156m of graphics produced (equivalent to nearly 12 Big Bens) 

• 589 images used 

• 184 images on the lift core wall 

• 1120 project hours