Client: KZF Design
Tasks: Brand Creation, Brand Implementation, Digital, PrintÂ
KZF Design, a multi-disciplinary architectural firm, helps clients design better futures. With deep understanding of how the layout of spaces can drive productivity and culture, KZF stands apart from other firms of its kind. To better highlight its strengths to prospective clients in visual communications, KZF turned to our design team for a brand refresh.
Because KZF has been successfully transforming spaces for over 60 years, they didn’t want to totally wipe away their history. To maintain some of the current brand equity, we kept the company’s iconic orange and square shapes as the cornerstones of the brand. To give the wordmark a more modern feel and improve legibility, we updated and re-kerned the typeface. Rather than adding squares extraneously as in the original wordmark, we gave them purpose as graphic elements throughout the brand expression. Squares can be stroked or solid, and can be used as containers for headlines, callout text, or photography. To marry all elements together, squares can also be combined with rectangles to create clusters. The clusters, which are inspired by floor plan drawings, abstractly represent KZF’s unique ability to combine elements to create the perfect space for their client’s culture.
After working on the team to develop the new brand, I applied the new system to KZF’s Firm Qualifications. KZF’s Firm Qualifications, or “proof of expertise,” document is one of the first touchpoints with perspective clients. In addition to updating the document with the new brand, I reorganized the content-heavy document’s structure to make the information more digestible, highlight key points, and better tell KZF’s story.
The streamlined look of the new brand creates a more cohesive look across print and digital. Other communications I designed, such as an email newsletter, landing page, and teaser brochure, show how the brand flexes across different media.