Wheely Academy Design
Wheely Academy is a network of educational institutions that train professional chauffeurs to the highest standards of service, safety, etiquette and discretion. This story is about designing the flagship Academy office in London, Syon Park. Wheely London Academy is the place where we set the standards, develop educational programs and scale them to the Academies in France, Russia and UAE.
Wheely Academy is a network of educational institutions that train professional chauffeurs to the highest standards of service, safety, etiquette and discretion. This story is about designing the flagship Academy office in London, Syon Park. Wheely London Academy is the place where we set the standards, develop educational programs and scale them to the Academies in France, Russia and UAE.
In 2020 Wheely London Academy moved in a UNESCO protected Monastery Barn built after 1415 for Bridgittine Nunnery on the grounds of Syon House. The Wheely design team was challenged to support making a three-day training programme for chauffeurs and to redesign the interior of the building.
Pre-accredited drivers are registered and equipped for the following training sessions at the academy reception. We considered the reception counter to be the determining piece of the interior so we decided to make it bespoke.
A breakout space at the academy was made so that the students and the academy staff could chill, linger and chat. In order for the kitchen area to coincide with the rest of the interior, we had to completely redesign and rebuild it.
The academy management insisted to place staff photographs on the wall to make the place more welcoming. Besides that, we placed a couple of inspirational posters. We thought it would be a good idea to put up a poster with real rapturous customer reviews to show how appreciated the work of a chauffeur can be.
The layout of the Academy's rooms is simple enough not to make any wayfinding signs. Nevertheless, we expected a certain and quite understandable level of concern for drivers, as they are experiencing an important moment in their career. Therefore, we have adapted the standard Wheely wayfinding sign to the features of this place. We used two types of signs. Some signs help students get to key places in the learning process. Other less noticeable signs indicate staff quarters.
This beautiful window is one of the nicest features of the initial interior of the building. So we decided to build a meeting room around it. To turn the stone windowsill into a sitting place, we put a bespoke leather cushion on it.
Training rooms are the core units of the academy. They are designed to accommodate groups of 8-15 students, this way each student gets the same quality training experience. Throughout the training program, students not only sit at their desks but also gather around educational posters, mannequins and display cabinets. Stackable chairs and compact desks enable training classrooms to be instantly repurposed for first aid training.
Vehicle standards posters are composed so as to be adjacent to each other. The vehicle flow check poster offers self-study. The vehicle surfaces poster is made for group interactive exercises.
The significant visual part of education materials is the chauffeurs’ outfit standards. To prevent any misinterpretation and to secure consistency of it we chose to photograph each individual piece of clothing and accessories on solid grey background. Besides that these images are used for educational purposes they also serve as a visual guide for equipping the academies with specimens of clothing.
The strict traditional image of a chauffeur implies appropriate treatment of the hairstyle. To illustrate grooming standards we chose a schematic drawing technique that is not only a cost-efficient solution but also the clearest way to demonstrate hairstyles features.
We decided that the process of becoming an accredited professional chauffeur deserves a solemn finale. To equip our trainers for the graduation ceremony we have designed a customisable template-based certificate in which the driver's name headlines a congratulatory text.
The certificate template is designed in such a way that every trainer in every country has access to it so that they can enter the names of trainers and graduates. The final touches are a brass-coloured sticker and a trainer’s signature in blue ink.
Interior Design
Berenice Martin — Interior Design
Shootings
Semen Katz — Chauffeurs Style Guide Shooting Photographer
French+TYE — Interior Shooting
Pavel Bocharov — Design Director
Wheely Design Team
Pavel Bocharov — Design Director
Ben Shaw — Director of Brand & Communications
Mikhail Gusev — Head of Communications Design
Alexandra Rybakova — Design Manager
Anna Svarovskaya — Communication Designer
Roman Bespalov — Communication Designer
Mikhail Gusev — Head of Communications Design
Alexandra Rybakova — Design Manager
Anna Svarovskaya — Communication Designer
Roman Bespalov — Communication Designer
Anton Moiseenko — Motion Designer
Ekaterina Adzhieva — Associate Designer
