Grounding an Industrial Design Firm in Core Values During a Rebrand

Overview

Chris Weigand Design, LLC had been a successful industrial design firm for over seven years. As the firm grew and expanded the owner decided that it was time to move through a name change process and operationally position the firm for growth.

Approach

We worked with the owner to design a thoughtful process to not only rename the organization but to ground the firm in core values and behaviors that would enable the firm to deliver a consistent client experience as they expanded and added more staff. It was important to the owner that the process be collaborative and provide a unique opportunity for his staff to be a part of renaming and developing a new brand. The four month process included a series of collaborative workshops to define the brand, identify and vet the new name and define the organization’s core values. As the organization began developing their visual brand we continued meeting monthly to specifically focus on core values. During these lunchtime sessions we provided a forum for the staff to discuss each value, what they mean, what behaviors drive each value and to gather valuable feedback on how the organization was living or not living the values. We then worked with the owner to take this meaningful feedback and make changes across the organization to continue to reinforce their values and create an authentic brand experience.

Outcome

The organization successfully launched their new brand and implemented new processes and programs to further support their values. Time spent in the organization reflects their thoughtful process as employees consistently refer to the values in conversation with clients and with each other as they work to be more diverse, optimistic, simple, empathetic, curious and to drive impact in everything they do.