Talking points

Insights

Behind the Work → Empty State

Creating a character. Escaping the crowd.

A minimalist Empty State light fitting
Our work ends in design. But it starts in research, insight and strategy.

Research & Insight

Activities: Desk research, stakeholder workshops, dealer interviews.

Success was always going to be defined by more than a commercial goal. The team behind Cameron Design House, serial award winners, know the power of industry recognition and the rewards of sustained dedication to quality.

Cameron Design House (CDH) focuses its energy on entirely bespoke, sculptural lighting, designed to be the standout piece in a grand location. But the founders knew that the same design sensibilities would resonate in a brand built to scale.

Consumers have been trained to associate flexibility with diminished quality; the wider the range, the lower the expectation.

Empty State’s range of lighting is born from practicality and utility, designed to be complementary pieces. The core suite of 6 designs can be configured to create millions of variations and sell for prices well into 5 figures.

Consumers have been trained to associate flexibility with diminished quality; the wider the range, the lower the expectation. It was vital that the brand didn’t feel lost amid its fluctuations.

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Born from design, the competition regularly presents their art form with elegance and sophistication. But their origins can result in restrictions: Tightly bound to their founders or diluted through the breadth of an ever-expanding range.

The industry relies on a network of dealers to act as intermediaries between manufacturers and clients, representing multiple brands. It’s essential for the business to act ‘dealer first’, developing the relationships necessary to unlock the doors to major projects, where hundreds of configurations could be sold at once.

A member of the Empty State team unpacks a plastic box
A dynamic shot of the team at work in the Empty Space workshop

Strategy

The products are not revolutionary. But they are brilliantly executed to the finest detail – greater attention paid to application and optimisation over originality.

The dealer profile influenced the brand ID, name included. It was designed to stand out from a crowd of competitors weaving a similar story, and to translate to international markets, knowing that initial emphasis would be oriented towards major urban centres in the U.K., Western Europe & the U.S.

Design and utility. Concept giving way to application.

We dialled up the role of the engineering process – skill over effort – to protect against imitators and to highlight the attention to detail required to create a single piece, shielding the eye from any mass production.

The look & feel needed to balance function with form and fashion – confidence and soul – to avoid a sense of clinical insularity, and connect the machine-made with the hand-finished.

Photography and 3D models celebrated the minutiae, showcasing close-ups and angles rarely provided by competitors, a true fanaticism to craft. Throughout the project, we explored the choreography between bright and dark, warm and cold, first-person and distant echo.

Website navigation starts with immersion, a controlled narrative where each swipe reveals a new layer of the story. Once the user offers intent, however, the site prioritises the dealer and information provision.

Design and utility. Concept giving way to application.

View case study
A member of the Empty State team in their workshop, looking at a computer screen.

Brand, Digital, Insight & Strategy, Motion

Shining a light on a new homeware brand

Awards

An Empty State foldout shot against a dark background

How do you champion a brand’s machine-like precision, without losing sight of its human heart?

  • The Question

    Known for their breathtaking, sculptural lighting pieces, Cameron Design House’s work can be found in some of the world’s most prestigious residential and commercial developments.

    When they decided to launch a new brand aimed at leading interior design professionals, we were invited to help them build it from the ground up.

    Offering a range of highly customisable lighting pieces that could be tailored to create something beautifully unique each time, our challenge was to celebrate their minimalist, precision-engineered design, without losing sight of the very human care and craft that went into every piece.

  • The Answer

    Recognising the power of this juxtaposition between human craft and cutting edge tech, we developed an identity that highlighted and celebrated the contrasts at the heart of the brand.

    Sculptural and mechanical, our typeface, Avenue Mono, possessed a warmth that suggested something simultaneously very human and highly automated.

    It was a perfect fit for messaging, which contrasted attention-grabbing headlines with stripped-back body copy to echo the effortless precision of the new brand’s craft.

    With a colour scheme that combined a muted two-tone palette with flashes of vivid colour, a compelling friction ran throughout the new brand’s DNA.

  • The Impact

    Recently spotlighted as a ‘brand to know’ in Elle Decoration, and stocked by some of the biggest retailers in the industry, Empty State have found a ready audience for their stunning products, and established themselves as a byword for elegant design in the sector.

  • Pipe-slider light fittings from Empty State
  • Pill-slider light fittings from Empty State
  • Sabre-slider light fittings from Empty State
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What's in a name?

Ambiguous and enigmatic, the name 'Empty State' hinted at the product's adaptability and potential to be transformed into anything the customer could imagine.

A composite of Empty State light fittings
An elegant Empty State light fitting hangs above a minimalist white table
  • A dynamic shot of the team at work in the Empty Space workshop
  • A member of the Empty State team unpacks a plastic box
  • A member of the Empty State team in their workshop, looking at a computer screen.
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Machine + Human

Tradition with soul. Meticulous yet unshackled. Timeless but progressive. Less Munich, more Berlin.

  • A cardboard box sealed with an Empty State paper seal

    Structure with warmth

    Sculptural and mechanical, our typeface, Avenue Mono, possessed a warmth that suggested something simultaneously very human and highly automated.

COLOUR

A close up of a circular, metallic Empty State component

The best of both worlds

Precision-engineered and lovingly crafted, our colour palette combined a cool muted two-tone palette with flashes of rich, vivid blue.

Diagrams

A technical blueprint for a part of an Empty State light fitting

Precision

Every product is made with the highest precision, to the finest detail from concept to completion.

A close up blueprint of a component from an Empty State light fitting

The materials

All of the products are machined from solid raw materials in-house in the UK, using the latest manufacturing technology.

A close up of a member of the Empty State team at work on a component

A hand lifts a metal Empty State lighting component from a pile on a wooden table

A close up of a cylindrical Empty State light fitting

An animation of checkboard materials used by Empty State

A series of Empty State light fittings in a minimal-style room setting

Pill

Made from handblown glass with brass features. Designed to be hung individually or in a cluster.

A close up of a blue promotional Empty State checkboard at a design expo

COLOUR

A close up of a circular, metallic Empty State component

The best of both worlds

Precision-engineered and lovingly crafted, our colour palette combined a cool muted two-tone palette with flashes of rich, vivid blue.

Diagrams

A technical blueprint for a part of an Empty State light fitting

Precision

Every product is made with the highest precision, to the finest detail from concept to completion.

A close up blueprint of a component from an Empty State light fitting

The materials

All of the products are machined from solid raw materials in-house in the UK, using the latest manufacturing technology.

A close up of a member of the Empty State team at work on a component

A hand lifts a metal Empty State lighting component from a pile on a wooden table

A close up of a cylindrical Empty State light fitting

An animation of checkboard materials used by Empty State

A series of Empty State light fittings in a minimal-style room setting

Pill

Made from handblown glass with brass features. Designed to be hung individually or in a cluster.

A close up of a blue promotional Empty State checkboard at a design expo

The impact

Now stocked by Marriot & Heals

A moodboard of the luxurious materials used by Empty State
Assorted Empty State components loosely arranged on a grey table
A moodboard of Empty State light fittings
A close up of a computer screen displaying an Empty State foldout
Empty State - Iridescent colours on a metallic surface
An Empty State mood-board featuring a cylindrical light fitting in a minimalist interior
A closeup of a setup for an Empty State photoshoot
A mood board of Empty State wireframes
A minimalist Empty State light fitting

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