Casa de Memoria is an auction house in the Philippines that specializes in decorative art and collectibles from the world over. With a careful selection of fine furniture, art and decorative pieces hailing as far back as the 15th century, the Casa brings the spotlight back to classic, timeless masterpieces, and finds their place in contemporary homes. With their flagship location in Roxas Boulevard, the Casa is the storyteller linking the past to the present-day collector.
Casa de Memoria was a new player in the antiquated business of auctioning art. Doing things differently than the rest of the closed-door world of auctions, the Casa sought to open the doors wide and speak to both the seasoned and the uninitiated. The Casa balances the tradition of the auction with the pursuit of the longevity of the past by bringing pieces with centuries of stories to tell to the new millennia.
Brand Identity
Brand Strategy
Campaigns
Packaging Design
Environment Design
Copywriting
The Casa's identity was inspired by the duality of old and new. Its logo and seal was designed to take cues from their pre-war Roxas Blvd. estate that will house their pieces in the near future. As its primary brand mark, the literal Casa demonstrates the brand's enduring roots in heritage and history, and how it repurposes the past to make new meanings in the present.
Speaking to a discreet, discerning audience of traditional Filipino collectors, their focus on finery, heritage, history, and craftsmanship shone through everything they endeavored to do. We made sure to reflect this in the rest of the brand's visual identity, from the classic typesetting to the gilded auction materials, down to the tiniest details in the forms, bidding paddles and receipts.
“We put a lot of care in curating the pieces that we hold,” shares Angelique Lhuillier Miranda. "We have a team of research specialists who are dedicated to validating the authenticity of each piece and really learning the history behind it.
People nowadays are forgetting the fact that one of the things that make art beautiful is its significance to society and to the events that help shape the world to how it is today. We want to reintroduce this concept to everyone for better appreciation of the pieces.”
At the same time, the Casa wanted to welcome budding collectors into the fold with informative content that simplified the bidding process, contemporary illustrations, graphics & copy.
Through this, we were able to design a fresher take on European fineries, replacing its prim, formal and uninviting image to one that encouraged new generations to engage with it and make new stories with them in their own homes.
“Over three years and 16 auctions later, working closely with Serious Studio has helped ground the casa in a solid identity, while still being able to evolve and grow from one auction to the next. We can't wait to see where our relationship will take the casa in the future.”
The studio maintains a long-running creative partnership with the Casa.
Since 2016, the studio has designed each auction with their own respective identities to best communicate the special stories of their lots.
Working closely with the Casa, their team of researchers, photographers, and their creative director Miguel Rosales, we've spearheaded the strategic and design direction of each auction through the website, catalog, invites, social media and even their space, in which these storied pieces are exhibited.
Today, the Casa continues to attract purveyors such as Ramon Antonio and Heart Evangelista, collectors and decorators who see the beauty in the old and the storied. The studio continues to work with the Casa to grow the brand and find new ways for new memories to be made and for old stories to unfold.