Launched in 1994, Eurostar is a pioneer of international high-speed train travel, connecting the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and now Germany. Last year, Eurostar merged with Thalys with the intention of becoming a single brand by the end of 2023. DesignStudio has created a new brand and design system to bring the two travel powerhouses together.
Our collaboration with Eurostar began back in 2019 on project GreenSpeed; an effort to meet the growing demand for sustainable mobility. The resulting merger of Eurostar and Thalys was a natural fit given that train travel has always stood for a more responsible journey, generating less CO2 than a plane or car.
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Through a series of workshops, we worked with Eurostar and Thalys stakeholders to capture the heritage and essence of both brands, whilst evolving them into the future. This is a significant moment in time for Eurostar to progress the way it operates, and the visual identity needed to make a bold leap to help the brand achieve its growth objectives and better reflect the role it plays in connecting people through train travel.
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The creative solution naturally builds from the strategy, creating a brand that sparks new—new experiences, new ideas and new opportunities. At the heart of the rebrand is a reimagined symbol, a new north star and icon for the brand. With the creation of this symbol, a combination of the Eurostar E and a star, Eurostar officially has its star back. The supporting bespoke word mark typography nods to the 1994 version with the lowercase italic letter forms.
The Spark is designed to be a flexible and dynamic asset. It breaks free from the symbol to create a graphic device for use across the full brand experience - from train livery and across stations, to digital platforms including website, apps, social media and TVCs. The Spark takes on a wide range of motion behaviours like rotating, extruding and dropping into locations, acting like a navigational compass to guide you around your city destination.
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The new identity modernises the Eurostar and Thalys colours, centering on a punchy blue and deep navy, and supported by six secondary colours that take inspiration from the diversity and vibrancy of Europe. The headline typography, La Pontaise, gives a distinct and elegant feel whilst bringing warmth and impact with high contrast characters. This is supported by ABC social, a hardworking and smooth sans serif body font, with subtle details that create a visual link with La Pontaise.
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To capture the eclectic nature of Europe, we partnered with seven illustrators across the five countries in the Eurostar network to craft a suite of illustrations, bringing to life the unique feeling and energy of the destinations. Alongside the illustration, we art directed a new photography library with photographer John Adrian, which captures the joy and spontaneity of discovery through travel.
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The new Eurostar visual identity was revealed in January 2023 in Brussels. The brand will fully launch by the end of 2023 with a new website, mobile app, uniforms and full brand experience.
A huge thanks to our clients for trusting and pushing our vision throughout: Mario Rauter, Lucie Thevenon, Barbara Bruynooghe, Nicolas Petteau, Jean-Marc Barbaud, Matthieu Quyollet and Francois Le Doze.
The new brand forges us together with a bold reimagining - it arms us for growth, driving reengagement with existing customers, and discovery by new travellers
Mario RauterHead of Brand Development, Eurostar Group
Discipline
- Branding
- Motion
- Illustration
- Sonic branding
- Brand film
Project team
- Julien
- David
- Steph
- Sam C
- Vitor
- Adam
- John G
- Jonathan
- Cheryl
- Lucy
- Emily
- Natalie
Collaborators
- Leo Field
- Luke Prowse
- Zelig Sound
- John Adrian
- Jean Leblanc
- Avalon Nuovo
- Jordan Robertson
- Alice Des
- Fagostudio
- Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe
- Matt Saunders