The Portland Landscape
When it comes to branding projects, there are a few industries that every agency and studio wishes to work with: restaurants, hotels, Apple and architects to name a few. Hence, when DAD was contacted by one of Portland’s premiere landscape architecture (LA) firms, who happened to be in need a rebrand, the only question was “when do we start?”
Changes
Shapiro Didway had been an established name in LA for years. However, one of the founders had retired and a new principal was about to be named. Furthermore, the firm wanted to rethink how they presented themselves, their work and their ethos to potential clients. It was a ground up rebrand and pretty much everything was on the table.
DAD developed a deeply collaborative process with the brand leadership team at Shaprio Didway. Over the course of more than a year, there were design charrettes, internal and external testing, and many deep discussions around how best to realize the spirit of a truly unique firm.
People First
To DAD, what stood out about Sharipo Didway was their focus on the human element of the design process. This “human-centered approach” became the core of everything about the new brand. DAD designed a comprehensive identity system that would touch every aspect of the firm—from marketing to working documents to portfolio photos to environmental design. At the same time, a first-person brand voice was developed and applied to every iota of how Shapiro Didway talked about their work. A completely new website was designed and built, and a brand launch campaign sealed the deal. The brand feels new but was 100% true to the firm, its people and its work. Win-win-win.