Plexal

Fresh from creating Level39 in Canary Wharf, Entiq approached us with our biggest challenge yet: a new innovation centre for creative and technology companies at Here East, part of London’s Olympic legacy.

Here East had introduced us, and we arrived with an ambition of our own: to build an incubator for entrepreneurs and startups. The values matched from the start. What began as a naming and identity brief grew into a partnership spanning brand, wayfinding and the experience of the space itself. Together, we wanted to create the conditions for people and ideas to connect.

The name came first. The brief was unusually demanding: gender-neutral, easy to spell, no more than six letters, rich in meaning and available for the required domains and registrations. It also had to express the meeting of creativity and technology.

We arrived at Plexal, a name rooted in the idea of a plexus: an interconnected network. The identity translated that thought into a geometric grid, with coloured elements forming two colliding arrows. Its structure supported an evolving visual language, expressed through the ideas of connecting, creating, cultivating and accelerating.

The logo animation brought that development to life, while colour variations and physical applications gave the identity room to grow with its community.

As the architectural design began, our role expanded. Working alongside Grimshaw Architects, we helped translate the brand into Plexal City: a workplace organised around streets, neighbourhoods and shared destinations.

Wayfinding made that idea practical. After studying urban navigation systems, we drew on Manhattan’s clear organisation. Mezzanines introduced Upper and Lower East and West Sides, while places such as Monument Square, Plexal Park and Legacy Place gave the centre recognisable destinations.

A consistent family of icons, directional signs and room markers connected the plan to the everyday experience. Colour helped distinguish areas, while legibility and the needs of people with visual impairments informed the system. The aim was simple: help people understand the space and move through it confidently.

Our architectural and interior design background helped carry the brand into decisions about lighting, fixtures, fittings and furniture. The spaces needed to support both focused work and the informal encounters that make a shared workplace valuable.

Monument Square became a lively arrival point, with its digital landmark, greenery and places to gather. Across the centre, colour and lighting gave different areas their own atmosphere. Lighting palettes considered the time of day and warmer or cooler conditions, extending the identity into the experience of the building.

Furniture was chosen for how people would use it. Acoustic chairs offered privacy within busy surroundings, while swivel seating made it easier to turn towards someone and begin a conversation. Each detail helped make the larger ambition work at a human scale.

Since opening in 2017, Plexal has grown into an innovation and growth company connecting startups with government, industry and academia, with teams in London, Manchester and Cheltenham.

Today more than 1,000 innovators work across its Stratford, Shoreditch and Cheltenham workspaces. It partners with GCHQ and runs Cyber Runway, the UK’s largest cyber accelerator, alongside national security programmes such as LASR and HMGCC.

Our work helped establish the name, identity and physical environment at the beginning of that journey. The founding belief in connection continues to feel relevant as Plexal’s work reaches beyond the space we helped shape.