🧱 Impression supports Wigan Council's launch of Galleries rebrand "Fettlers"

Wigan Council's £135m redevelopment of the former Wigan Galleries shopping centre took an exciting step forward recently, as the local authority launched its fresh brand for what will become a new leisure, entertainment and residential complex on the site.

Currently under phase 1 of its construction following a 2-year period of demolition of the old Galleries buildings, the regeneration of this crucial Wigan town centre area by Wigan Council and development partner Cityheart will eventually include a 90,000 sq ft market hall, food precinct, cinema and entertainment complex, and a hotel operated by leading brand Hampton by Hilton, adding 144 keys to the local area. Subsequent phases of the development comprise over 400 new homes.

The redevelopment has been created and implement with a vision of drawing people back into Wigan town centre, creating attractive new entertainment options for the town alongside homes that will help to increase footfall.

Introducing Fettlers: A new brand that evokes Wigan's heritage  

The project has been named "Fettlers", inspired by local dialect and referencing - and celebrating - Wigan's industrial-era heritage which is recognised for making things, from clogs and pottery to sport, art and music.

In his statement at the brand launch, Councillor David Molyneux MBE and Leader of Wigan Council said: 

"In Wiganese, our proud local dialect, "fettlin'" means to make, fix and mend, or you can be "in fine fettle". 

We have worked really closely with our local community to find a name that really meant something to the people of Wigan....

This name and brand celebrates our history, our values and looks towards our bright future of crafting, grafting, dreaming, fettlin' and making things happen." 

Impression is one of a number of local organisations, craftspeople and creatives who have brought Fettlers into the public domain, celebrating "modern day makers" alongside the local authority's "People Make Wigan" campaign which in recent months has showcased across the town centre organisations and people like Uncle Joes, Wigan Warriors and local artists.

Visual branding that supported our local authority client's important brand launch

Impression has worked alongside Wigan Council for a number of years, delivering eye-catching visual branding projects across the Borough including recent rebranding work at Wigan Life Centre and Wigan Museum, Leigh's Pennington Flash nature reserve, and supporting the delivery of major sports events including the UEFA Women's Euro championships and the Rugby League World Cup.

We were asked to support the local authority with its brand launch event for Fettlers, which took place at the town centre's Hideout venue on Queen Street and was attended by local VIPs, celebrity guests and local "fettlers" (and our Chris!). 

It was essential that our work for the launch immersed visitors into the Fettlers brand across the event, displaying the visuals clearly,  communicating the meaning behind the brand with more detailed displays and signage, and adding some fun that visitors could take away in the form of stickers and print.   

Wigan Council chose to launch Fettlers sustainably, in line with the local authority's values, and in line with this vision we created cut-out lettering, props and displays using printed engineered cardboard, making an impressive impact with a lower carbon footprint.

All products, from "People Make Wigan" hoardings and large format graphics boards installed across the town centre, to bespoke props, displays and wall graphics, were printed in-house and professionally installed by our Greater Manchester team, preparing the venue in good time for our client's event.

📸 Take a look at our visual branding work for Wigan Council's Fettlers brand launch

Impression's team printed and manufactured cut-out Fettlers lettering as bespoke props in line with the new brand visuals using sustainable engineered cardboard for maximum visual impact, but with a reduced impact on the environment.

Printed entirely in-house at our workshop in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Fettlers launch large format graphics, signage and hoardings are produced with crystal-clear clarity and quality assured throughout, ensuring materials meet our local authority client's specifications and timescales.

The Fettlers brand launch gets underway at Hideout in Wigan, with Impression's work showcasing the brand visuals, communicating the meaning behind the brand, and showcasing the development plans for this major new entertainment, leisure and residential complex in Wigan town centre.

Fettlers' brand is all about Wigan's heritage, and the town's rich history of making, grafting and crafting. Produced using sustainable engineered cardboard and professionally printed by Impression, our display stands at the brand launch highlighted how the brand was created, including its typography and application.

Large format graphics and posters printed by Impression helped guests at the Fettlers brand launch to visualise the final development and to appreciate the impact it will make on Wigan town centre. Fettlers Bitter was produced by a local brewery too, continuing the theme of local crafting and 'mekin'!

Our engineered cardboard lettering takes pride of place at the brand launch. It was vital that our bespoke props accurately reflected the new brand visual and font, and our team took great care to ensure consistency of quality and accuracy was maintained during production.

Informative display stands were also produced using engineered cardboard, allowing for a sturdy but sustainable display with reduced carbon footprint. All displays were printed in-house by Impression at our workshop in Bolton, Greater Manchester, for Wigan Council.

Nobody can resist a freebie! Tags and stickers reinforced the Fettlers brand message, built around local dialect and shouting loudly about everything that makes Wigan unique. Here, the brand colour palette was also communicated - a bold colour scheme that's instantly recognisable and links the town's sporting heritage of "Wigan Athletic" blue and "Wigan Warriors" red!

Our Chris making sure all's running smoothly at the Fettlers brand launch for Wigan Council, with the assistance of CBBC's famous Wiganer, Hacker T Dog 😀

The "People Make Wigan" campaign has been rolled out across Wigan town centre using bespoke printed construction hoardings, featuring artists like Jess who have brought creative flair to Wigan. Ensuring long-lasting print quality, hoardings are printed in-house by Impression directly onto tough hoarding boards that are built to last in the occasionally-inclement Wigan weather.

"People Mek Wigin" - Impression completes the installation of our hoarding boards along a busy Wigan traffic route, showcasing to thousands of people a week the brand messages that Wigan Council is building around the town's "making" heritage, the "makers" themselves, and creating a link through large-format visuals to the new Fettlers brand at the heart of the town.

Delivery of sustainable props, displays & large format graphics for Greater Manchester local authorities by Impression

Since 2008, Impression has delivered large format graphics, unique displays, props, visual branding and signage for well-known clients. Working with Greater Manchester and North West local authorities, popular visitor attractions, schools and universities, as well as high street retailers and organisations in many other sectors, our team creates bespoke, engaging displays, exhibitions and visual products that generate talking points, footfall and interest.

Every aspect of your print, signage or display project is professionally managed, turning work around quickly and entirely in-house by our Bolton, Greater Manchester team.

Looking for something more sustainable? Impression eco is our commitment to reducing carbon in print projects. Using carefully-sourced materials including engineered cardboard and PVC-free vinyl, Impression helps you to meet your eco objectives with mindful print that doesn't compromise on crystal-clear quality.

Contact Impression's print, props, signage & graphics team for local authorities in Greater Manchester

To find out more about large format print, signage, graphics & visual products for local authorities in Greater Manchester, get in touch with Impression.