Commercial vinyl flooring might not be the stuff of architectural dreams…but that was precisely the challenge Armstrong Flooring laid down for Nexus Design with their Natralis collection – make the architectural creators and thinkers take notice of what is literally – below them.
The Natralis Brief
With local production stretching back over sixty years, Armstrong Flooring is Australia’s only manufacturer of commercial vinyl-sheet flooring. Recently launched, the Natralis collection not only fulfils the practical requirements of commercial flooring—but, through the use of colour, also connects, on an aesthetic level, interior environments to the flora, fauna, animals, and places of Australia—a genuinely unique local product. Understanding that commercial vinyl flooring goes into environments with stringent regulatory standards, such as healthcare and education facilities, it is usually the architect, or specifier, who makes the product choice. This choice is based on function first—and form second. But, what if Natralis could elevate the value of form within this decision-making process through aesthetic appreciation? After all, architects are, first and foremost, visual people.
For the team at Nexus Designs, who were engaged to launch the product, reaching this audience was paramount. The challenge was staying true to the core functionality of the product while capturing the imagination of the person doing the specifying.
The Solution
A campaign aptly titled ‘Play with Colour, Connect with Place’.
The campaign uses a visual narrative exploring four de-constructed interior scenes. Each key image evokes a colour palette, place and emotion. Swathes of vinyl in dialogue with other building products, complemented by commercial furniture—a virtual ‘look board’ for industry specification.
The Launch
The team at Nexus rolled out the launch with printed collateral and sample packs, supported by digital assets. To celebrate the theme, the printed collateral incorporated as many local suppliers and products as possible—from Australian furniture to paper stock (Nexus selected Sovereign Offset and Australian made Koala Kraft from Ball & Doggett).
The Natralis Campaign
Natralis showcases Australian manufacturing, creativity, design and production at its best. The visual design approach deliberately mirrors the slightly matt finishes and sophisticated colours of the products. The result was a campaign communicating brand authenticity—connecting a product to an environment and joining the aesthetic with the practical.
Natralis Wallet & Postcard Set
The flagship for the launch was a wallet constructed from Ball & Doggett Koala Kraft board in the 300gsm weight. This Australian-made stock not only offers rigidity but a warm, natural appearance that further evokes the natural world. The wallet was form-cut and left unprinted. Within the wallet, a series of printed postcards showcase the visual narrative of Australian flora, fauna, animals and places—partnered with Natralis products.
The postcards, printed in CMYK plus a satin finish, are on Ball & Doggett Sovereign Offset. Sovereign provides excellent colour reproduction with a soft, toothy finish —a perfect complement to the Kraft stock of the wallet.
GSM would like to thank Nexus Designs (Melbourne), Armstrong Flooring (Australia), Lillie Thompson (product photography), Marsha Golemac (product styling), Mark Lobo (project photography for contributing to this article.
Sovereign Offset is available in both Australia & New Zealand.
Koala Kraft is available in Australia only—the equivalent stock in NZ is Kraftpak.
For more Information on these stocks go to:
Australian readers: //ballanddoggett.com.au
New Zealand readers: //bjall.co.nz
