Kelly & Stone Architects

Kelly & Stone Architects

BRAND FOUNDATION & WEBSITE

Kelly & Stone Architects

/ SERVICES

Brand Foundation
Collateral
Voice & Messaging
Experience Design
Web Development

VISIT WEBSITE

/ OBJECTIVE

After completing brand strategy, messaging, and project descriptions, we designed SOQ and proposal templates. These looked so good, KSA hired us to redo their website.

The new website creates a better mobile experience, features the team, and shows off a curated global portfolio of homes.

/ IDEA

KSA already had a strong logo and color palette. With such powerful project photography, we kept the design of the website “quiet” so that their work, not ours, is what gets noticed.

Brand foundation & messaging by LecoursDesign.

/ PURPOSE

We love designing timeless homes and building lasting relationships.
KS|a Home page

Positioning Statement

/ CORE VALUES

Weave Creativity and Reality
Our work is as buildable as it is innovative.

Collaborate with Courage
Build on the strengths of our practice through gratitude and teamwork.

Details Make the Design
Paying attention to details embeds character in our work.

Be Humble
Remain open to brilliance emerging from unexpected sources.

Communicate with Candor
Transparency, truth, and vulnerability are essential when interacting with clients
and teammates.

/ BRAND PERSONALITY

Before designing the website, we created five brand personality attributes to guide all future marketing communication materials:

Distinctive

Imaginative

Timeless

Approachable

Passionate

KS|a Home page
KS|a website home

qualifications brochure 

KS|a website home
KS|a website home
KS|a website home
KS|a website home

Dibble

Dibble

BRANDING & WEBSITE / CASE STORY

Dibble

/ SERVICES

Discovery & Recommendations
Brand Foundation
Brand Identity
Collateral
Voice & Messaging
Digital Marketing
Web Design & Development

VISIT WEBSITE

New Logo

Logo Meaning

Custom Service Icons

Social Media

Vehicles

Website Design and Development

Bullivant

Bullivant

BRANDING / CASE STORY

Bullivant

/ SERVICES

Discovery & Recommendations
Brand Foundation
Brand Identity
Collateral
Voice & Messaging
Digital Marketing
Web Design & Development

VISIT WEBSITE

/ OBJECTIVE

With significant transformation in the last 10 years, this law firm’s brand was stuck where it had been; not where they’re going.

New offices, strategic plan, core values, vision, purpose, positioning, and a refined brand name — this was the time to create a new visual identity.

/ IDEA

We created new branding grounded in this positioning: West Coast, Defense Lawyers, and Collaborative Teams.

New Logo

Logo Meaning

Branding Process

S T R A T E G Y,  T H E N  B R A N D I N G

A strong brand is rooted in brand strategy, which means having well-articulated Purpose, Vision, Core Values and Positioning statements.

During a half-day workshop with the branding committee, we engaged in group prioritization exercises to narrow a lengthy list of firm attributes to three unique differentiators:

West Coast – We have deep knowledge of the law in CA, OR, and WA.

Defense lawyers with hands-of trial experience – We actually go to trial,

Collaborative Teams – Many minds contribute to resolve our client’s challenging legal issues

P O S I T I O N I N G  S T A T E M E N T

From those three unique differentiators, we developed a positioning statement that defines the firm type (West Coast defense lawyers), how it is unique (hands-on trial experience and collaborative teams).

We are a West Coast firm of defense lawyers with hands-on trial experience. Our collaborative teams guide clients in resolving challenging legal issues.

C O R E  V A L U E S

We Are a Team
By working closely together, we achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.

We Are Respectful
Mutual respect is the cornerstone of how we interact with each other and our clients.

We Are Tenacious
We rise to every challenge —perseverance, determination, and grit define us.

We Are Fun
We are serious about our work, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We Are Creative
Partnering with clients, we explore all possibilities to achieve successful outcomes.

B R A N D  P E R S O N A L I T Y

Before developing the visual brand identity, we established five brand personality attributes to guide all future marketing communication materials and activities.

Authentic/Relatable
Innovative
Reliable/Trusted
Tenacious
Fun/Playful

Custom Patterns

Website

Bullivant Website About Page

Before

After

Bullivant Website About Page
New Home Page

Social Media

Bay Shades

Bay Shades

BRANDING

Bay Shades

/ SERVICES

Brand Strategy
Naming
Brand Identity
Stationery
Print Collateral
Brand Style Guide

/ OBJECTIVE

Refresh the brand identity of this Santa Monica firm to attract premier architects, interior designers, and general contractors.

Bay Shades’ new positioning: Providing finely crafted automated shading, we love our work and you will to.

/ IDEA

Redesign their logo to make it more modern and fresh while maintaining visual continuity through color and their service-man icon.

Strategy & Logo

Color Palette

Typography

Custom Pattern

Business Cards

Signage & Vehicle Graphics

Print

/ CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

I wanted you to know business is up 72% currently and has been hovering at 50% above for a few months. While I cannot pinpoint the cause the effect is dramatic, fun, challenging, and rewarding. Thanks for the inertia. You had a lot to do with it and I appreciate your effort and support.

Greg Amato

Owner, Bay Shades

Murraysmith

Murraysmith

BRANDING / CASE STORY

MSA becomes Murraysmith

/ SERVICES

Discovery & Recommendations
Strategy
Brand Foundation
Voice & Messaging
Brand Identity
Print Collateral
Digital Marketing
Website Design & Development

VISIT WEBSITE

/ AWARDS

SMPS MCA Awards:
✶ Best Rebrand
✶ Best Website
✶ Best Recruiting & Retention Promotion

/ BACKGROUND

After speaking at the SMPS Pacific Regional Conference in Portland, David was approached by Irina, the marketing director at Murray, Smith & Associates, Inc. (MSA), a nine-office, 155-person civil engineering firm in the Northwest. Handing him her business card, she confessed,
I know, we need your help.

/ CHALLENGE

While MSA marketing team members understood the value of branding, several owners were reluctant to invest in a rebrand. Business was strong and memories of a failed attempt at DIY rebranding and a false start with a consultant unfamiliar with A/E/C marketing lingered.

/ SOLUTION

To help MSA make an informed decision, we proposed the firm commit only to the Discovery Phase, including a review of its strategic plan, a brand audit rating 75 brand touchpoints, personal interviews with recent hires, and a competitive audit.

/ LOGO MEANING
/ COLOR PALETTE

/ TYPOGRAPHY

/ CUSTOM SERVICE ICONS

Brand foundation & messaging by LecoursDesign.

/ BRAND PERSONALITY

Imaginative


Fun


Dependable


Relateable


Sincere

/ THREE UNIQUES

Just the right size – We are large enough to employ diverse talent to solve your biggest challenges, yet small enough to genuinely care.

We’re Invested – We live where we work; we take project success personally.

We keep great company – We take care of our people, so they can take care of you.

/ CORE VALUES

We workshopped seven core values, which we later expressed on craft beer coasters. Each coaster is letterpressed with a value on the front, and more detail about its meaning on the back.

We make it happen. (Service)

We invest in us(Improvement)

Our work goes on the fridge. (Quality)

Multiple Minds > 1 (Collaboration)

Work that works for you. (Flexibility)

We Engineer Fun (Fun)

We Give a $#!T (Passion)

Murraysmith Core Values
/ POSITIONING STATEMENT

We are a public infrastucture engineering firm, crafting the communities we live in.

/ BEFORE REBRAND > BUSINESS CARD

/ RESULTS

Nine months after the rebrand, Murraysmith had a 40% increase in staff growth, a 30% increase in gross revenue, & 12+ new clients.

Increase in Earnings

42.5%

Increase in Staff Retention

6%

increase on LinkedIn

32%

Increase in Project Hit Rate

10%

/ CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

“You always have been so fantastic in what you did for us; more so, the story behind Murraysmith and how you went about the process, and how we are able to align where we are going. The story, foundation, and process are more important than anything else. You are and have been amazing so it is easy to give you great recommendations.”

–Chris Rayasam

Chief Executive Officer, Murraysmith

* A / E / C = Architecture, Engineering, & Construction (but you already knew that)
© LecoursDesign 2023