The Salters’ Company has been part of the life of the City of London since 1394. When it asked us to bring its identity and website up to date, we knew every decision had to honour that history just as much as it looked to the future.
Licensed by Richard II and granted its first Royal Charter in 1607, the Company is ninth of the Great Twelve livery companies. Its roots are in the medieval salt trade, but today its heart is in chemistry education and philanthropy, through the Salters’ Institute and the Salters’ Charitable Foundation, supported by more than 400 members.
Over the years the Company and its two charities had come to use three very different logos and typefaces. Our brief was to bring them together under one clear identity that would help the Salters’ story reach new partners, donors and schools. The historic coat of arms, granted in 1530, stays exactly as it is for livery business and civic occasions.
We started with the crest. Working closely with the Company, its Archivist, the Archives Working Group and the College of Arms, we drew a contemporary interpretation of the historic Salters’ crest for everyday communications. We set it within a hexagon, a shape with the strength of a shield and the familiarity of the six sided ring every chemist knows, and built the whole family around it. The Company, the Institute and the Foundation now share one hexagonal grid, one palette of deep blue, gold, deep red and cream, and one pairing of Cormorant Garamond and Inter.
The concepts were shaped with staff and the Members and Communications Committee, refined with the Management Board and approved by the Court of Assistants on Election Day. Everything now lives in a 27 page set of brand guidelines, so the identity can be used with confidence across print, social media and impact reports.
Then came the website. salters.co.uk opens with a cinematic film and tells the Company’s story through new photography and film, an interactive timeline, a Salt Collection explorer and live impact figures, including the more than 62,000 young people reached by the Festivals of Chemistry. Behind the scenes, every page has been written to be clear to search engines and AI assistants, and every old address has been carefully redirected so nothing is lost.
It is a rare privilege to be trusted with a brand that has been evolving for more than six hundred years. The Salters’ crest has taken many forms throughout its history, and we are proud to have drawn its latest chapter. Working alongside Jody and the team was a genuine pleasure from first workshop to launch day, and hearing members respond so warmly to the new site meant a great deal to all of us.
We are all absolutely delighted with the upgrade and it’s been a real pleasure to work with you on the process.
Let’s grow something brilliant