HSBC
85
Countries under one branding programme
3
International awards for the work
1
Central design and specification standard
0
Specialist call-outs for routine changes
- Sector
- Banking & financial services
- Location
- 85 countries, globally
- Project type
- Global workplace branding programme
- Service scope
- Workplace branding
- Wayfinding
- Exterior signage
- Brand implementation
HSBC Group Design needed one branding programme that could work across 85 countries — consistent enough to reinforce a single global employer brand, flexible enough to fit workplaces that vary hugely by market, building type and local regulation.
Without a structure to manage that, HSBC risked one of two failures: an identity too rigid to fit local buildings, or local interpretation so loose that HSBC stopped looking consistent anywhere.
GLIMMA held design, rollout planning and material specification under central control, and delivered through local project managers and installation networks in each market.
Delivered a global branding programme across 85 countries, balancing one consistent identity with locally customised workplace design.
One identity, 85 sets of local conditions
HSBC Group Design needed a single branding programme that could work across 85 countries — consistent enough to reinforce one global employer brand, but flexible enough to fit workplaces that vary hugely by market, building type and local regulation. Workplace branding, wayfinding and exterior signage all had to be part of the same programme.
Without a structure to manage that, HSBC risked either a rigid identity that didn’t fit local buildings, or local interpretation so loose that “HSBC” stopped looking consistent anywhere.
Material choices had to work at the same scale. A bespoke sourcing strategy in every one of 85 countries would have been unmanageable — and expensive in both cost and carbon.
Central specification. Local delivery.
GLIMMA kept design, rollout planning and material specification under central control, while using local project managers and installation networks to deliver in each market. That combination let HSBC’s identity stay consistent globally while adapting to what each individual building and market actually needed.
Material choices also had to work at this scale: GLIMMA specified locally sourced, eco-friendly, recyclable materials wherever possible, reducing cost and carbon footprint without requiring a bespoke sourcing strategy in every country.
Central control, local delivery. HSBC could maintain consistency across markets while allowing each workplace to adapt to its local context.
Explore our brand implementation services85 countries, one identity —
and no fixed template.
GLIMMA delivered workplace branding, wayfinding and exterior signage across HSBC’s global estate, giving every location the same underlying identity built from locally sourced, eco-friendly, recyclable materials. Sign systems were engineered so maintenance staff could carry out day-to-day changes themselves, without needing a specialist call-out for routine updates. Because design and specification were controlled centrally while delivery ran through local networks, the programme scaled across 85 countries without either losing consistency or forcing every market through an identical fixed template.
Wayfinding and workplace branding carry the same system in every market — the adaptation happens in how it meets each building, not in what it says.
Locally sourced, recyclable materials cut cost and carbon at once, without a separate sourcing strategy for each of 85 countries.
Three awards.
Eighty-five countries.
The programme delivered better employee engagement, reduced costs and faster delivery times across HSBC’s global estate, and won three international awards for the work.
Locally sourced, recyclable materials cut both cost and environmental impact, while maintainable sign systems reduced the ongoing burden of keeping every location current.
The structure behind it — central design and specification, local delivery through trusted networks — is what makes the result repeatable rather than a one-off. HSBC’s workplaces across the estate carry one identity, expressed through materials sourced in the market where each building stands.
3
International awards won
6,900+
Workplaces across HSBC’s network
85
Countries delivered
Neither too rigid nor too loose
A brand programme spanning 85 countries fails if it’s too rigid to fit local buildings, or too loose to still look like one company.
GLIMMA’s structure — central control over design and specification, local delivery through trusted networks — gave HSBC both: one recognisable identity worldwide, and workplaces that still make sense in their own market.
GLIMMA continues to support HSBC in maintaining and scaling its global workplace brand environment.
Global partner network. Local project managers and installers in every market, working to one central specification.
Read about usWorkplace and wayfinding. Branding, wayfinding and exterior signage delivered as one programme, not three.
View servicesCentral governance. Design, planning and material specification held centrally so consistency survives 85 interpretations.
View processSustainable specification. Locally sourced, recyclable materials — lower cost and lower carbon, without bespoke sourcing per country.
View solutions