For this project, the client needed a rebrand of their logo and a new website to match the updated brand. While the company has been around for several years and is established in a niche market, the client had never done much marketing or branding work as their primary form of advertising was word-of-mouth. As part of an effort to take market share from larger competitors, the client wanted to revamp their digital presence to achieve a modern, minimalist aesthetic.

The first step was to develop a new logo, which sparked a larger conversation about the brand as a whole. The company was originally called “The Open Door Solution,” but the client generally shortened the name to “Open Door” in conversation. Internally, my team also found ourselves consistently using “Open Door” to refer to the company as well. We decided to pitch the idea of a slight name change, to start doing business as “Opendoor Solution.” This reduced the name from four words down to two, making it easier to say without shortening, and also helped with the aesthetic of their new logo. I presented the company with three initial options, then refined the winning choice based on their feedback. The result was a logo that everyone on their team was happy with, even those who didn’t think they needed to redesign it in the first place. The main point of contact at the company expressed how grateful he was for our help in getting the rest of his team on board with the change. It was a small shift that generated internal excitement about the brand which hadn’t previously existed.

The next challenge was to understand what the client had in mind for the look of the new website, and what exactly they pictured as being “modern and minimalist.” Through several client meetings, and by listening to various stakeholders from the company, we delivered an end product that exceeded what they imagined was possible for the website. We accomplished this by spending more time listening than doing anything else in the beginning stages of the project. The keys to this success were asking questions and seeking to genuinely understand the needs of each of the different decision makers in the company.

The finished website includes the newly designed logo, custom graphics and icons, and mockups of the client’s software. We also delivered a simple brand guide to help the client understand how to implement their new brand assets to maintain consistency moving forward.