Destination Brand and Renaming for Gunpowder Mills

Why DNCO cut a royal name down to just Gunpowder Mills

DNCO reimagined the historic Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills as a vibrant destination brand, simplifying its name and redefining it as 'London’s wild edge.' The new identity unites industrial heritage with nature through robust typography, atmospheric photography, and a design system inspired by the site’s architecture and landscape.

Set in Avec Stencil

Insights

The main move was radical simplification: "Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills" was shortened to "Gunpowder Mills," with a Lee Valley locator replacing the old geographic weight while keeping the word "gunpowder" front and center.
DNCO’s positioning, "London's wild edge," frames the 175-acre site as wilderness, invention, and leisure just beyond the city, turning a 300-year explosives history into a destination brand for the Lee Valley’s outdoor corridor.
The visual system blends industrial heritage and nature through Avec Stencil typography, chosen for its "robust forms, recalling an industrial past," plus mossy forest/meadow colors cut with "chemical pops" of coral, orange, and electric blue.
DNCO’s marque was intentionally expressive, described as "the spark of an idea, the happy doodle of a child, and the excited scribble of a eureka moment," and the photography was shot with Andy Mackie to create an atmospheric, textural feel.
The rebrand had real-world traction: DNCO cites 1,275 visitors through the new entrance in the first month, and the relaunch included an International Living History Festival with 300 reenactors covering 2,000 years of history.