The Red Standard

In 2025, HSBC became the first bank to have its signature colour officially recognised by the Pantone Color Institute: Pantone 1795C. The D&AD New Blood brief asked for a graphics-led campaign that helps HSBC own red globally: differentiate it where red is common, and make it feel uniquely theirs through storytelling, symbolism, and distinctive design.

The work needed to speak to high-net-worth, globally mobile audiences across HSBC’s core markets, with touchpoints synonymous with the brand, from financial districts and airport lounges to travel and premium product.

Wealth is no longer about heavy metal, but the standards you keep. The Red Standard elevates HSBC’s Pantone 1795C into a global mark of refined belonging for the borderless affluent. Rejecting commodified gold and platinum tiers, this graphics-led campaign uses regional avatars to unite diverse cultures under one proprietary colour.

Executed through exclusive ceramic cards, 1795C travel luggage, and digital passes, the campaign takes over high-traffic global travel hubs, transforming HSBC Red from a common corporate utility into a symbol of cultural sovereignty. It’s not just a card. It’s a standard you hold.

Rejecting the uniform, transactional approach of modern banking, The Red Standard builds value through a profound sense of belonging. Hand-drawn regional avatars, from the Eastern Dragon to the Western Eagle, act as conceptual bridges across global cultures. With Pantone 1795C, we unite diverse origins under one proprietary, worldwide standard.

The campaign grew out of a close collaboration with Mete Tunca. He brought the idea for the regional animal illustrations and the skill to execute them, each avatar drawn by hand with real weight and character. I led the typographic system, campaign graphics, environmental mockups, and the build of 1795c.com. Together, illustration and design language could develop in parallel rather than one chasing the other.

Gold and platinum cards have become mass-market. They no longer signal true exclusivity. The Red Standard resets the conversation by turning HSBC’s iconic red into a global mark of belonging: a new banking tier that proves true value isn’t about carrying a heavier metal, it’s about the standards you hold.

• Ceramic cards
• Proprietary 1795C travel luggage
• Digital and physical passes

The Red Standard follows the client across every global touchpoint. Integrating Pantone 1795C into digital and physical travel environments turns the colour into a consistent signal of belonging. These touchpoints transform high-traffic hubs into proprietary spaces:

By claiming these spaces, HSBC transforms corporate utility into a mark of exclusivity, ensuring the standard is recognised at every arrival and departure. Red is no longer a symbol of debt, but a quiet mark of cultural sovereignty.

Campaign assets applied across lounge, travel, card, and signage environments, each reinforcing 1795C as something you hold, not something applied. Cards, luggage, and illustrations were designed by hand; AI-generated airport environments were used only to place those assets in situ, giving the mockups a bespoke setting without relying on stock photography.