Mubarak and Brothers Investment

In Pursuit of Quality

Elegant and enduring solutions for strategy and design that will tell the MBI story effectively for the years ahead.

As the company behind Deerfields Mall, on the run into Abu Dhabi, as well as a string of other retail related business, Mubarak and Brothers Investment already had significant scale.
However, it was very much an unseen entity and as it looked to expand, the Chairman and CEO were keen to put a face to this focused holding company.
Zaman were brought in initially to help the team define the company’s brand story. A workshop with the division heads and CEO determined that a commitment to offer more quality at a price point relevant to the UAE’s mid income majority was at the heart of their efforts. Pushing the parameters of ‘Quality in Everything’ was the essence of their endeavours and certainly a position they hold firm.
It was determined that MBI was a holding group supporting its companies with this central vision and shared key services. As such it needed a strong corporate identity and logo mark touched by the finesse of its retail focus.
Initially we created the visual identity system that would interpret the brand story. The color palette is primarily copper and black, very distinguished and resolute. To support this a secondary palette offers muted, dark and earthy tones that maintain the serious and sober corporate look.
To reflect the practical quality of the brand the font family combines a strong serif font, AW Conqueror Didot, used primarily for headlines, with a simple, modern and practical sans serif, Raleway. All very elegant.
The pattern, to be used sparingly to add depth to printed surfaces, is drawn from the logo type ‘M’ and simply repeated to be practical and easy to use.
Probably the most impactful element though is the photographic style. Using high contrast, black and white shots of strikingly linear subjects, the images reinforce the strong sense of direction and precision. Color imagery is used too, but desaturated and with a copper tone. The MBI team are presented un-posed, capable, candid and earnest – a team of professionals open to ideas and progress.
From this visual basis we created an elegant serif logo type in copper, with its supportive line that expresses continuity and stability. The bilingual name in full ensures the identity is clear and balanced.
The identity was then rolled out across stationery with a refined stock and foil finish. Distinct PowerPoint templates and corporate gifts were designed to support engagement on a face-to-face basis.
We created a clean, corporate, fully responsive website with simple navigation and a structure capable of easy expansion. Training for the MBI team ensured they can self manage the content.
On reflection the brand created for MBI, and documented in the Guidelines Manual, provides elegant and enduring solutions for strategy and design that will tell their story effectively for the years ahead.