A website redesign that became something much more

We all knew it was time for a redesign. It had been about 3 years since we last overhauled our website, and a lot of change had happened in that time. As our powerhouse team grew along with our client roster, we outgrew some of the more soft and playful aspects of our visual identity. We wanted to lean more into a sharp and confident look that reflects the caliber of our work.

We didn't get too far before it became clear that the redesign was about much more than aesthetic. Our existing website was personality-rich and a strong showcase of our team and work — meaning it was all about us. Potential clients couldn't see themselves in the work, couldn't easily navigate our service offerings or how we address their unique brand challenges.

As we explored how to solve this, we uncovered some deeper questions about who we are and who we're speaking to. And so began a 6-month-long journey where we took a few steps back to rebuild some foundational brand elements.

Our Audience

By this point, we'd gotten to know our different client types pretty well. But we needed to define our audience segments with more clarity and depth in order to resonate with them through our messaging.

This exercise wasn't just about industries we serve. It pinpointed key traits based on the stage of a company, its goals and pain points. Thankfully we had years of client conversations to extract these insights from. We landed on value statements for 3 core audience segments:

Partnering with mission-driven orgs to make an impact

Transforming seasoned businesses to meet the moment

Helping founder-led brands drive what's next

Our Voice

With fresh clarity around who we're speaking to, we then had to define how we speak. What's the style and personality of our voice? We wanted our messaging across all platforms to be authentic to our team, while reflecting our expertise and resonating with potential clients. We landed on three driving pillars for our tone of voice:

Bold & Optimistic:

We lead with energy and possibility. Our tone is confident without being naïve, using active language that signals potential and purpose.

Thoughtful & Human:

We sound like real people, warm and grounded. We avoid over-polished professionalism in favor of clarity, empathy, and connection.

Smart & Clear:

Our thinking is sharp, and our language is precise. We strip away jargon
and over-complication in favor of direct, purposeful communication.

Our Verbal Identity

We went into this thinking we'd do a light update of our website messaging. You already know where this is going — obviously we couldn't resist a complete overhaul of our verbal identity that extended across all platforms. With our audience and voice as a foundation, we developed some key messaging, starting with a new tagline:

Building brands that move people & culture.

We found so much power in the many meanings of the word move: Design can emotionally move people, stirring their hearts and making them feel something. Design can signal moving on — inspiring possibility and important culture shifts. Design can equip businesses to move up — driving what's next in a world of sameness.

From there we wrote fresh messaging around our mission and approach, as well as landing pages tailored to our three audience segments. (You'll have to check out our website to explore it all.)

Brand Values

Finally, our full team came together for a brand value exercise. We zoomed out even further, digging into the core beliefs that drive our work and our culture. We landed on 3 values as our north star:

People first:

Our power to connect and inspire is irreplaceably human. We wield it with care for the common good, striving to work, speak, and create in ways that move people and culture.

Always curious:

We dig deep, asking bold questions that challenge our assumptions and methods. We operate with consistent ambition for new possibilities that drive what’s next.

All in:

Day in and day out, our hearts are in it. We believe in every brand we touch, and we're here for every wild dream and weird challenge. From the small details to the big picture, we're in the trenches together.

The final product

Needless to say, we got more than we bargained for. We facilitate deep brand exercises with our clients all the time, and it was so rewarding to put ourselves in the hot seat. Our team came out of this process with a newfound sense of purpose and unity, and a comprehensive brand guide as tool to drive how our brand looks and sounds. Oh yeah, and we launched our new website.

Deanna Rosa, Senior Designer
Meet the team