Chow Tai Fook

In celebration of its 95th anniversary, Chow Tai Fook embarked on a journey to rejuvenate its image. As a household name and a leading jewelry brand from Asia, Chow Tai Fook sought to affirm its standing amongst the top global luxury retailers, starting with a brand identity refresh that will extend across its 8,000 retail stores worldwide and digital platforms alike.

We worked with Chow Tai Fook across brand positioning, voice, architecture, product assortment, visual identity, retail applications design and customer experience to uplift the brand such that it demonstrates tradition with modernity through balancing the intricacies of Chinese heritage with a global vision - extending a legacy into the future.

As part of the brand’s transformation, we organised and streamlined the brands within the house of Chow Tai Fook, clarifying the role of each brand and store type within the portfolio. We developed the positioning for each element, along with a distinctive visual system, suggested product assortment, and customer experience (addressing both online and offline shopping journeys).

Lippincott also worked to consolidate Chow Tai Fook's defining equities in the form of a potent identity, distilling almost a century of artistry and elegance in a comprehensive brand strategy that revolves around the core brand concept: "The Chinese House of Timeless Craft and Beauty".

Building upon the brand’s core sentiment of creating pieces with enduring value, we hosted multiple workshops with senior leadership for the articulation and definition of a vision, a mission, and values that could represent and guide how employees should think about the brand in their everyday work.

Coming into the project, we were faced with a key challenge - how do we effectively balance Chow Tai Fook's existing equities and heritage with the need to transform the brand for a younger global audience?

To pay homage to the brand’s roots, we developed a Heritage logo in two versatile executions. One version retains the original red badge, while the other is liberated from the badge and used on full Timeless red backgrounds. The new Heritage logo maintains the distinctive divider line and proportion of its predecessor, but incorporates a more contemporary aesthetic that still amplifies its founding year of 1929.​

To strike a balance between our global outlook and heritage, the logo assets are strategically employed. While the visual system is led with our new English logotype, the Heritage logo is applied as a sign-off signature on selected touch-points to preserve our historical essence while infusing modernity into our brand.

Chow Tai Fook has long been associated with the color red - a key element the brand wanted to retain. Lippincott helped define the new iconic “Chow Tai Fook Timeless Red” that the brand has now officially introduced in collaboration with Pantone. With “Timeless Red” as the centerpiece, we also infused three other complementary colors including “Legacy Gold”, “Jade Black” and “Porcelain White” that bring a bold and fresh perspective to jewelry - incorporating Chinese culture in the style of an industry icon who is making tradition anew.

Lippincott redefined Chow Tai Fook’s visual identity to capture the new essence of the brand. Working closely with the client team, we crafted a comprehensive visual system complete with color, typography, photography style, ad/print collateral direction, and retail inspiration that artfully showcases the brand and its products. Through our expertise in imagery art direction, we brought the brand's vision to life, ensuring that every photograph and video shoot creates a captivating and ownable visual impression.

At the same time, we introduced a new brand monogram. The Chow Tai Fook monogram was meticulously finessed to amplify the cultural characteristics of the brand with an elevated flair. The brand initials of “C”, “t”, and “f” are elegantly integrated in the center, framed with an outline inspired by the fine detailing of ancient Chinese jewelry boxes. 

From developing the conceptual core strategy and visual direction to the implementation and execution, we assisted Chow Tai Fook along the full journey from brand concept to implementation. Following the definition of the new brand, we worked with around 10 partner agencies across retail, advertising, corporate communications, production houses and more to ensure successful launch and execution - and we continue to work with Chow Tai Fook as a brand guardian to safeguard and maintain a premium standard which exudes beauty and craft.