From tender to a story that mattered
Three weeks is not much time to build something that doesn’t yet exist—especially when the task is to make it feel inevitable.
Richard didn’t come to us with a brief. He came with a concern. A tender process was opening for a marina in Kefalonia, and the assumption baked into it was clear: only those already operational, already visible, already proven would be taken seriously. On paper, Richard had the numbers, the experience, the plans. What he didn’t have was a marina anyone could walk around, point to, or imagine themselves in. “It needs to look like we’re already there,” he said. “Like we’re the only serious bidders.” Then he added the deadline.
The early conversations weren’t about branding or visuals. They were about credibility. What makes something feel real before it exists? What convinces people they’re not taking a risk, but recognising the obvious choice? And how do you do that without pretending to be something you’re not?
With no time to lose, we brought in Mark Homer, a long-time collaborator, to help think through the site itself. Not as an abstract plan, but as a place with flow, logic, and intent. Together, we immersed ourselves in the everyday reality of marinas—the variety of boats they serve, the rhythms of arrival and departure, the quiet hierarchy between utility and luxury. The goal wasn’t spectacle. It was familiarity. If someone knew marinas, this one needed to make immediate sense.
As the visual language started to form, something else surfaced—charts. Flags. The pragmatic graphics of navigation. Nautical flags, in particular, caught our attention—not as decoration, but as a language built for clarity, coordination, and trust. They became a way to signal that this marina understood the world it was entering.
But the more we talked, the clearer it became that making the marina look operational wasn’t enough. Every other bidder would do that in some form. The real question shifted: what is this marina for, beyond berths and breakwaters? What belief is it built on?
That’s when the conversation turned back to Richard himself. He’s been a sailor all his life. He trained as a boat builder not far from our Dorset office. And now, living in Kefalonia, he sees daily the strain placed on fragile marine environments—not in theory, but in the water he sails. This wasn’t a side note. It was the reason he cared so deeply about doing the marina properly.
So we challenged the unspoken assumption of the tender process: that value is measured only in commercial terms. What if the marina didn’t just extract from its setting but invested in it? What if part of its future profits were committed, from day one, to the place that made it possible?
From that conversation, the idea of a Trust emerged. Not as a CSR add-on, but as a structural commitment. A Trust that would fund apprenticeships for young people entering maritime trades. Support local initiatives protecting Kefalonia’s marine environment. Provide education and information to help preserve the waters around the island. It wasn’t a grand promise. It was a practical extension of Richard’s values.
We wrote the Trust into the tender as if it already existed—because, in intent, it did. Projects, partnerships, events. A future that extended beyond the marina walls. Suddenly, the tender wasn’t just saying we can build this. It was saying we understand this place, and we’re here for the long haul.
The response was telling. The tender was recognised as different. Not louder. Not more polished. But more considered. It reframed what “serious” could mean.
For now, the project is on hold. The tender process paused. The marina remains unbuilt. But the document still stands—ready to be resubmitted when the moment returns. And with it, the idea that infrastructure can carry responsibility, that credibility can come from care, and that sometimes the most convincing thing you can show is not what you’ve made, but what you’re willing to protect.
Project deliverables
Ideation, Identity design, Signage, Architectural schematics & 3D renders, Site planning