BASICALLY BRILLIANT.
A bold yet friendly, no-frills font for ZIP.

Issue
ZIP, our new budget hotel brand by Premier Inn, needed a typeface that reflected its straightforward and functional ethos. Typography would be crucial in shaping the brand’s identity and central to all its visual communications. The typeface had to be bold and flexible, adaptable to various contexts while capturing ZIP's essence: simplicity, affordability and a strong focus on doing the essentials brilliantly.

Insight
ZIP is designed around compact, functional rooms with no unnecessary extras. Each room measures just 8.5 sq. m and starts at only £19 per night, underscoring the brand’s emphasis on simplicity and value. Wolff Olins, our branding agency, was tasked with developing a visual identity to communicate these values. Our objective was to translate this ethos into a unique type design.

Idea
Wolff Olins’ brand identity for ZIP employs minimalist design principles and a typography-driven approach. Our challenge was to create a custom typeface that echoed ZIP's simplicity while remaining bold and approachable. Each font element was crafted with care to ensure both functionality and distinctiveness.

Impact
In collaboration with F37® Foundry, known for its unique fonts, we developed a custom typeface for ZIP that combines bold confidence with clarity. The circular forms of the typeface introduce warmth and friendliness, striking the perfect balance for a brand focused on simplicity without sacrificing approachability.