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CJFA Marks 40 Years in Practice With A New, Contemporary, Irish Identity

CJFA Marks 40 Years in Practice With A New, Contemporary, Irish Identity

A look at the thinking behind CJFA's new identity, developed in collaboration with independent design studio, LEON: Visual Identity Design.

With 2026 marking 40 years since our practice was established in Waterford in 1986 as C.J. Falconer & Associates, it felt like an appropriate time to consider how our identity could acknowledge our history, while recognising the contemporary, distinctly Irish studio that we have become, as CJ Falconer Architects.

'Generations in Practice'

At the centre of our new identity is a clear idea: ‘Generations in Practice’. Developed through the design process with Leon Murphy, the line captures both the heritage of our studio, and its ongoing evolution. It speaks directly to CJFA as a three-generation architectural practice, shaped by accumulated experience and continuity, while also recognising that architecture itself is a process – always progressing, adapting, and responding.

This idea became the foundation for the wider identity. From the outset, we wanted to find the right balance between history and forward movement: retaining the established character and credibility of a practice built over 40 years, while creating an identity that feels relevant to CJFA today.

We also sought for it to connect with the breadth of people and organisations with whom we engage: from long-standing and new clients from the public and private sectors, to collaborators and project partners – and future members of the CJFA team.

From that strategic starting point, the visual language began to take shape. A character of ‘Contemporary Irish’ runs quietly through the new system. Rather than expressing this in a literal or decorative way, Leon explored how a sense of place could come through in tone, restraint, colour and material reference.

A muted Gorse Green has been chosen as the principal colour of the identity – a subtle reference to the Irish landscape, rather than an overt use of green as a national symbol. The wider supporting palette draws similarly from the landscape and the natural materials associated with traditional Irish architecture, with tones of Sandstone, Moss, Limestone, Mortar and Granite creating a connection to both place and materiality. Used more expressively where the identity needs to make an immediate impression, and more sparingly where our architecture and project photography take precedence, the palette gives the new system a grounded and distinctly Irish character without compromising its contemporary restraint.

Leon’s approach to the typography follows similar thinking. Clean, contemporary letterforms are punctuated by subtle bespoke details, developed with reference to traditions of carved and inscribed lettering. Small incisions, cuts and changes in geometry draw quietly on both early Irish stone carving and the architectural lettering that followed, introducing another sense of materiality and place without becoming overtly historic or decorative. Applied selectively across the wordmark – particularly to the A, J, h and t – these details are intended to reveal themselves gradually, giving the identity a distinctive character while allowing the typography as a whole to remain restrained and contemporary.

New CJFA Logo bespoke logotype details being highlighted
Subtle bespoke logotype details developed by Leon Murphy

A System That Supports the Work

Individual design decisions are deliberately measured rather than dramatic, with layouts guided by a clear grid that provides consistency across print and digital applications. This extends to a supporting graphic motif, abstracted from the C, J, F and A of our name. Used at different scales and orientations, its fine linework makes a subtle reference to architectural drawings, creating a recognisable thread through the wider identity while remaining deliberately secondary to the work itself.

Importantly, our architectural work remains at the centre – and so, one of the principles we shared with Leon was that the identity should support our projects rather than compete with them. The resulting system provides a consistent framework within which our architecture, photography, drawings and ideas can take prominence, whether we are presenting a major public building, a scientific or educational facility, a workplace, a residential development, or a smaller intervention.

That flexibility was particularly important to us. After 40 years, CJFA’s work encompasses a broad range of sectors, clients, building types, and scales. The identity therefore needed enough character to be recognisably ours, without imposing a particular visual language on the architecture itself.

Example image of New Social Media Assets
Example of New Social Media Assets
Example Image of New Print Assets
Example of New Print Assets

Alongside the visual changes, we have worked to make the tone of CJFA more direct and open, reflecting more closely how we work as a practice. Clearer messaging allows us to talk about our projects, processes, experience, and our approach without unnecessary overcomplication – reflecting how we run our architectural projects.

CJFA Marks 40 Years in Practice With A New, Contemporary, Irish Identity

That thinking has informed not only the new visual identity, but also this new website and the way in which we will share our work, ideas and practice life in the years ahead.

For us, the rebrand was never intended to draw a line between the old practice and the new. Instead, it is about continuity. Forty years of practice have shaped who we are, and the experience accumulated across those years remains fundamental to CJFA. At the same time, reaching this anniversary provided an opportunity to consider how that experience is carried forward by another generation – and how the practice continues to develop.

Our new identity is therefore not a fixed outcome, but a foundation: a system designed to evolve over time, shaped by the work it represents and by the direction the practice continues to take.

It brings greater clarity to how we present CJFA today, while remaining grounded in the values that have defined the practice since 1986.

A more considered expression of the same values. A more confident way of presenting the practice today.

Generations in Practice.