The man behind a new look for the Pyramids of Giza.
They are the last surviving Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and recognised instantly worldwide as spectacular monuments to a bygone civilisation. The Pyramids of Giza have stood majestically atop an elevated plateau overlooking the bustling Cairo suburb of Giza for well over 4,500 years, and since the 1800’s a major tourist attraction for visitors and explorers from all over the world.
Yet the visitor experience is waning, it has lost touch with the many expectations of 21st-century tourism. The time is right for the Egyptian Ministry for Tourism & Antiquities together with their partners Egypt’s Orascom Investment Holding to transform the overall visitor experience for the better.
It is the year 2000 and graphic designer Leigh Evans is settling into life in the Middle East. He has already been in Dubai for four years, at the start of the city’s transformation into the thriving tourist and business hotspot we know today and is now establishing a portfolio of work within the hospitality, tourism and mega-project realty sectors. After being made redundant in the 2008 crash, three years on he is in Qatar, refreshing that country’s tourism branding. “They had just landed the World Cup and the tourism authority wanted to start evolving their brand and elevate themselves to the world.”
This initial brand strategy and visual language set the tone for how Qatar promoted itself to the wider world, the principles which he created back then still run today in various forms.
At the end of the project, Leigh returned to the UK determined to use his portfolio success in the Middle East to establish a career and business at home, by working on various projects in the UK, Dubai, and Austria. Then his phone rang.
Leigh had become friends while in the Middle East with Ahmed Mustafa, an Egyptian, who had also returned to his homeland from Qatar to work for a leading Egyptian company Orascom Telecom. His employers were exploring a restructure and rebrand.
Leigh, who runs his own brand, marketing and graphic design company Brave Brands in Towcester, flew to Cairo. It turned out to be a new brand transformation strategy and identity for Orascom Telecom to become Orascom Investment Holding (OIH). There was another project alongside it. The long running Sound & Light Show, which had just been taken over by OIH’s entertainment division Orascom Pyramids Entertainment, at the Giza Plateau.
“I pitched for and landed the project,” Leigh said. “It required some brand strategy, naming, an identity, visual look & feel and what the experience should be like for a guest. Then they mentioned they had another project they wanted me to look at, which was a bit more prestigious.”
For many years the visitor experience at the Giza Plateau had been in decline. The complex’s new custodians Orascom Pyramids Entertainment and Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities wanted to refresh and enhance the site’s visitor facilities and services.
“The idea was to transform the site experience as a whole and they wanted me on the project’s ‘creative’ deliverables i.e., brand strategy, brand expression, customer experience, and also audit them as a visitor against their worldwide competition.”
Leigh was tasked with creating the overall brand placemaking, storytelling and all the visual assets associated for the project. He began with an audit, assessing and comparing the Giza Plateau to other historic sites around the world like: Machu Pichu in Peru, the Coliseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China, and Britain’s Stonehenge etc. He also looked at how the world’s leading museums treated history, taking note of how it was done at the British Museum in London and the Louvre Museum in Paris as class leading examples.
“They are all historic places that had elements of what we were looking at,” said Leigh. “The brand’s definition and expression would flow from that.”
He then assessed the locations product proposition and story. Their story is simple:
“The Pyramids of Giza were built to endure an eternity. Erected to prepare the occupants for the next world, these spectacular monumental Royal tombs are the eternal resting places for three of the great Egyptian Kings who reside within them.
Today and in the future, Orascom Pyramids Entertainment will further enhance and transform its visitor experiences whilst preserving this wondrous historic plateau. The goal, to offer unparalleled world-class visitor experiences, in an ancient location that has been Built for Eternity.”
Leigh’s principal task was to create a brand with a compelling positioning to encourage and meet the expectations of modern day tourists. “I just treated it as a normal project but I knew exactly how prestigious it was,” he said. “Everybody knows what they are and it is a massive thing for the proud Egyptian people and for Orascom, because this was the first historic site ever to be given to a private entity to look after. I thought that if I do not do this right, I might as well give up.
“It was quite a coup because I thought they would opt for an Egyptian company to do the work. But they wanted international companies rather than Egyptian as they looked to tap into a wider market. My bit was the clarification of the concept, if you like. I defined how the plateau’s transformation will be expressed.”
“Then it was what it is going to look like and be called. The location has been called many things over time: Pyramids of Egypt, Great Pyramids of Giza, Giza Pyramids, Giza Plateau, Giza Necropolis to name but a few. We plumped for Pyramids of Giza as it defines exactly what and where the place is, then we needed a logo. I offered up various identity concepts ranging from: clichéd triangles depicting the pyramids, ancient mythology, hieroglyphs, to Royal cartouches and tomb seals etc. for consideration. I just wanted to create something ‘unique’ and ‘useable’ specifically highlighting the pyramids. This is a cultural icon that everybody knows and understands.”
The Pyramids of Giza identity draws inspiration from the four principal icons of the plateau – the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure and the Great Sphinx. By following the mathematical accuracies used by the Pyramid builders, the new brand logo is a contemporary stylised solution, making it an instantly recognisable marque to whoever views it.
This identity however is not just the logo, it is a holistic visual expression that utilises clean multi-language typography, contemporary and historical design elements, a colour palette inspired from ancient times, stunning use of photography, within an easy to apply set of creative rules which provides an appropriate level of design sophistication, while allowing the complex and visitor experiences to remain the focus.
There are a total of nine pyramids located around the Giza pyramid complex (or Giza necropolis). The three large pyramids of the King’s form its centrepiece, with six smaller Queen’s pyramids situated next to both the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The historic site also houses other tombs, temples, boat pits and the famous Great Sphinx.
“These things are huge, it’s hard to gauge their magnitude without seeing them up close,” said Leigh. “Everyone who visits the site generally stand in awe of these massive manmade structures.”
However, this transformation of the Giza plateau is not going to happen overnight, principally beginning with the overall infrastructure, followed by the opening of various food & beverage, retail outlets and the hosting of special events, and lastly the introduction of ‘official’ guided tours around the plateau.
Currently, the overall infrastructure is almost complete with the stations (bus stops) and visitor centre in their final phases. The plateau now has a fleet of environmentally friendly electric buses to transport visitors around the site, each stopping at stations en route where you can alight to look at and learn about the historic structures. Special events have already been held with that spectacular pyramid backdrop and various prestigious food & beverage and retail outlets are now open on site.
One such outlet is the 9 Pyramids Lounge venue, a Bedouin-style tented hospitality area that overlooks all nine pyramids. It hosts dining and other special events.
The lounge was the first part of the transformation projects to open following the hiatus of the pandemic. This is the first such venue to be allowed to operate within the plateau’s boundaries and has proved a spectacular success.
9 Pyramids Lounge is guided by the ancient Ankh, symbolising a long eternal life for the King and the symbol of life itself; the Great Ennead, a representation of the first nine Egyptian gods and goddesses worshipped at Heliopolis.
The lounge includes five indoor and outdoor spaces, providing entertainment and hospitality throughout the day and by special arrangement at night, within a grand tented lounge, a relaxing outdoor majlis and three outside courtyard terraces, each with views over all nine pyramids (it’s the only place to see them in one vista). 9 Pyramids Lounge is also the only place to offer exclusive event spaces at the plateau.
“The 9 Pyramids Lounge identity takes its inspiration from the number 9 (for the nine pyramids and gods) and the Ankh. A fusion of ancient and modern creating a versatile and striking solution, that’s only fitting for such a venue.” Leigh said.
Following the opening of 9 Pyramids Lounge, the King Khufu Centre – this is a reimagined existing building that is located within the plateau’s boundaries and houses a number of quality food & beverage and retail outlets, each with uninterrupted views of the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Khafre.
The main visitor centre and VIP tour lounge – the first touchpoints for visitors to the plateau are now complete and are due to open this summer. Leigh is the creative talent behind all this project, from the brand identity and visual language, interior visitor information graphics, wayfinding, and transportation information through to the 9 Pyramids Lounge’s identity and signage, and the King Khufu Centre identity and signage. His work on the project is now almost complete.
“This project is in no way a financial one for me. It is one of those ‘branding’ projects that never comes round again. It’s more a legacy project – for me, sat in an office in Towcester, working on a unique project of such magnitude 2,000 miles away and over 4,000 years old is quite something.
I’m proud to have made a contribution to something so important…by capturing the essence of the Pyramids of Giza through the written word and bringing the project to life visually. It is now down to the Orascom team to fulfil the vision and make the visitor’s experience truly memorable for the ‘right’ reasons.”
Words: Andrew Gibbs – Editor
Published: Business Times / Business MK – June 2024
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