Palais — Where music reigns
Photography: Shaun Peckham
Typography: Commercial Type
Palais is a new night-time venue in Peckham, set within the former Jones & Higgins department store on Rye Lane. Reopening a long-closed landmark, it returns as a space for music, culture and community in South London, rooted in Peckham and open to the world.
Once home to the much-loved Peckham Palais, the building sat empty for more than a decade before being brought back to life. Its reopening marks a new chapter for the space, shaped by a renewed focus on music, community and cultural relevance.
The identity is built around a bespoke blackletter logotype. It acts as a distinctive symbol of an iconic space reclaimed for the Peckham community, reflecting the venue’s energy, character and strong sense of place, while giving it a clear and recognisable visual identity.
The type system is led by Portrait, a display serif rooted in Renaissance traditions, but stripped back and reinterpreted with a contemporary edge. It carries a natural tension, historic in its bones yet reactivated with a fresh, modern energy suited to the venue.
The identity is designed to live confidently across the space, from signage and wayfinding to posters, digital and print. It balances clarity with expression, creating a cohesive visual language that feels embedded within the building and responsive to the energy of the venue.
As the brand takes hold, it aims to become synonymous with new music culture in Peckham. Shaped by sound, people and place, it will build a clear identity rooted in community and defined through real experience as the venue grows over time.
Lottie Campbell
Co-founder
Only helped us see what Palais could really become. The identity brought confidence and a sense of direction, shaping how the venue launched and how people are already connecting with it.”
