Sultan Haitham City | MOHUP
Treasure the future
As the highly ambitious masterplan community that launched Oman’s new Sultan and his prolific campaign of development, Sultan Haitham City (SHC) was a momentous project. Creating a brand that encapsulated the awe-inspiring vision while winning the hearts and minds of the people was essential – and Fifth Estate hit every note.
- Brand Strategy and Positioning
- Brand Narrative
- Brand Identity and Visual Language
- Brand Book
- Brochure Design
- Print and Outdoor Campaign
- Digital Campaign
- Outdoor Branding
- Experiential and Spatial Design
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A once-in-a-generation undertaking, SHC represented His Majesty’s most generous gift to his people and announced Oman’s new era to the world. Fifth Estate was entrusted with defining this city’s identity, brand narrative and strategic foundation, which was an enormous task in itself and made even more complex due to the context of the time. Navigating pivotal changes to social policy and the ramifications of the Covid pandemic, we had to ensure all creative work deftly harmonised the social, political, economic and cultural threads of this nation.
The creative identity we developed had to elevate excellence without promoting exclusivity, it needed to highlight His Majesty’s generosity and strategic proficiency and it needed to appeal to the youth of Oman. At no point could we simply put a luxury brand on SHC and leave it at that – a generative strategy was the key to winning the hearts and minds of the people so SHC could lay the foundations of Oman’s future with its new Sultan and his robust plan for redevelopment.
As always, we immersed ourselves in the context, recognising the deep roots Omanis had with the land, became well acquainted with the proud Omani spirit and ensured that these values guided the creative response – this proved to be transformative. Through prolific creative development across bespoke wordmarks in both English and Arabic, logos, typography, color palettes, photography styles and multi-touchpoint campaign examples we gave Omanis the concept of a lifestyle – one underpinned by youthful, vibrant energy that everyone could be a part of. We encouraged them to treasure the future.
This optimistic, deeply rooted yet future-forward approach was a triumph. Through our extensive strategic thinking and creative exploration, Fifth Estate gave the government and the people real, tangible assets so they could see SHC’s future before them. We translated the technical reports, vision documents and policy points into an aspirational, sellable, practical, tangible embodiment that ministers could show to private developers, investors and other ministers. In effect, we created a bridge between the abstract of what SHC was on paper and the reality of everything it promised for the future of Oman and Omanis – we made SHC real.
Developer: Madinat Al Foutain, Oman
Our approach celebrated the dynamism of the vision, fused the proud legacy with the new destiny, and honoured the beauty of the nation and the spirit of the people.
Bold Yet Accessible
Every single asset and expression of SHC was designed to feel generous, uplifting, inclusive and connected to the core of the nation. From the vivid colour palette that leads with brightness, to the bespoke logo that honours the ceremonial Khanjar dagger, it’s clear that the story of Oman’s new era honours the past while striding boldly forward.
An Evolving Brand
With all eyes on the future, the brand we developed for SHC is powerful yet flexible – it is a living, breathing brand that has been designed to enfold the city’s evolution. Through considered copywriting and messaging frameworks, the brand builds change into its mythology and unites the people to welcome the next chapter.
Legacy Meets Destiny
Drawing on the nature, culture and tradition of Oman, we were able to craft a vision for the future that revered the foundation it grew from. And, while premium in execution, accessibility was at its core, meaning that every Omani was included in the brilliant future. This ensured that the brand and creative identity spoke directly to its target audience, which is why it was so universally embraced.
