Floyd
Floyd is a Detroit-based furniture company founded with a mission to put an end to disposable furniture. The brand needed a new identity and packaging system that reflected its evolution from start-up to full-fledged furniture company.
A proprietary typeface inspired by the company’s Rust Belt origins is the centerpiece of the new identity — which was applied across its packaging, website, and Detroit showroom.
In 2014, co-founders Alex O'Dell and Kyle Hoff launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their steel leg system, which allows users to create a table out of any surface of their choice. They raised over $250k and Floyd was born.
Photographs courtesy of Floyd.
Research
As Floyd grew, so did their need for a more meaningful brand. The Order team decided to dig into the founder’s family history to tell its story. Kyle’s grandfather and great grandfather were both named Floyd – and worked in the steel factories of Youngstown, Ohio where Kyle grew up.
Order uncovered a photograph of the factory deep in the archives, and were inspired by its bold painted signage. The photo served as as an instrumental reference to Floyd's historical past alongside its growing future.
Order took the foundation of the steel factory letterforms and began translating them into an extended alphabet. A new typeface, “Floyd Gothic”, was born.
Floyd’s packaging system displays their playful tone of voice, with a “Hi there, I'm a FLOYD [bed][desk][table]…”stamped on every box. This was carried over from the original language – a familiar element that helped the brand smoothly evolve.
With Floyd Gothic at the core of the new identity, extending the system to a variety of applications was a fast and efficient process.
To create a seamless transition, Order provided a robust brand guidelines to Floyd’s inhouse design team, who produce new materials on a daily basis.
