CL Yachts reveals collaboration with renowned designer Jozeph Forakis during official brand launch at MYS 2019

The all new coordinated brand visual identity will be the first phase of the comprehensive collaboration to be officially revealed to the public at MYS’19.

Signifying a new forward thinking, holistic approach, in addition to Branding the designer will act as Creative Director for CL Yachts’ next generation of yacht designs – for both exterior and interior design.

Renown for his visionary designs for everything from lighting, furniture and home accessories to cellphones, watches, and wearable tech, Forakis sets out to help redefine yachting for a new generation of owner.

Jozeph Forakis is known for his iconic designs for everything from lighting, furniture and home accessories to cellphones, watches, and wearable tech. Unlike many designers who are famous for their work in one area, Forakis’ one constant seems to be re-inventing well established product categories across multiple industries.

CL Yachts is born from the desire to boldly reimagine luxury performance experiences for a new generation of yacht owners. It makes sense then that the Company would take the bold decision to partner with a design visionary who has never worked in the yachting industry before.

Both partners are excited about the collaboration and eager to show the first fruits of this dynamic collaboration.

“Even tho we will be revealing the new brand identity first, this is actually the last piece of the holistic puzzle that we started to work on” says Forakis from his studio in Milan, Italy. “The collaboration started from a series of broad, deep, ‘what if’ discussions with (Director) Martin Lo about the future of yacht design and yachting and luxury experiences.” That excitement and energy lead to the Company commissioning Forakis for a series of innovative yacht design concepts. That, in turn, evolved into Forakis’ very first all new next generation yacht design to be developed under the all new brand (the revolutionary CLX95 will debut in 2020).

“We decided together to be very ambitious, and to match this ambition with bold strategic moves” says Forakis. “During the development of the first boat, we realized that if we truly wanted to push innovation, to create entirely new yachting designs and experiences, then it also made sense to start with a clean slate in terms of the name, brand identity, marketing, services … all the touchpoints that define a world class, state-of-the-art luxury experience”
Work on the new brand identity began in earnest in Spring / Summer 2018, about 1 year after work on the next-generation yacht designs started. By that time Forakis had a clear vision of the creative direction for the visual identity as an organic extension of everything that was going on from the side of the new core products he and his team were also designing.
Elaborating on the project, Forakis points out that the new identity began with the name itself. “We wanted to honor the parent company and that rich heritage, but also signal a clean break aimed to appeal to an entirely new generation of yacht owners and enthusiasts. It is simple, authentic, honest. We set high expectations and we intend to deliver.”
At the core of the new coordinated visual identity is the brand logo.“The letters C and L are seamlessly interwoven to signal the new holistic philosophy” Forakis continues, “The graphic quality is clean, fresh, high energy but also stable and reliable. It signals both innovation and timeless values. It is elegant and balanced in keeping with the best in high end luxury”.
“The orange color is distinctive in the world of yachting”, says Forakis “I am very strategic when it comes to these things. In our research we found that in the world of yachting there are many ‘me too’ boat designs and many ‘me too’ brands and colors. Orange is young and energetic and rarely seen amongst yacht or other luxury brands. This is part of our ’blue ocean strategy’ to communicate a true alternative in the market with an alternative, authentic vision.”
In summary, Forakis says “It is rare to have this kind of opportunity to help re-conceive and re-design a whole company from zero. My team and I are very proud to reveal this comprehensive brand visual identity program. But this is just the beginning. I’m extremely excited with everything we’re working on with CL Yachts to redefine this category by pushing innovation on all levels. I wish I could tell you more!”
Stay tuned to this space.