&Dave
Creative studio rebrands ain't easy. It's a balance, creating an identity that expresses who you are, capitalises on the market opportunities, and excites your teams. While your own eagle-eyed industry scrutinises you at every kern.
Revealing the joy
"Because you get us," said Mark over coffee. "You’re part of the team. We love working with you. So, help us find the words?"
We like when a project starts with flattery. How could we say no?
&Dave are one of our long-term creative partners. They’re an inspirational bunch. Packed with energy, eagerness and talent. Think smiles, open-armed welcomes, non-stop curiosity and dedication to total teamwork. With winning ideas as likely to come from account execs as the creative team.
In their studio, there’s passion for creativity and culture. These are brand experts at the top of their games. They’re playful. Joyful. Alive!
Founder Mark got in touch at a time of brand shake-up. New name, new look, new positioning – and a strong desire for new language to capture all the brilliance. Exactly the sort of challenge we love.
The team had begun to explore language they felt expressed their personality and process. But they’d got stuck.
Stuck at what we call the second stepping stone. You step on stone one the moment you realise you need to refresh your brand language. Stone two is where you get that language down on paper but it’s just a bit... y'know... vanilla. Most brands stay here. Not &Dave.
Will you go out with me?
We got to see the development in a kick-off meeting, and took it away to devise a language playdate.
We created a morning's workshop for the team to jump pen-first into a series of creative, words-based explorations. Space to step from safe to sacred ground. Guided time to unearth original language.
We started the playdate with a big question, inspired by our time together. One we’d keep returning to. If &Dave were a living and breathing thing, what would it be drawn to and why?
We split the team in two and sent them onto the streets around their Borough studio. The challenge was to be the brand. To live it, to breathe it.
The power of four
Regrouping after the exercises, listening in to the buzz, a line stopped us. Grabbed us by the lexicon. Got everyone in the room excited. It’s incredible what one simple sentence, four precise words can do.
“We reveal the joy…” said the creative director. Say it again. “We reveal the joy.” Yes! We were all in chorus. Yes, that’s exactly what we do! Every project, every time, we reveal the joy in places and spaces.
As importantly, we realised in discussion it’s also what &Dave’s clients need from and love about working with the studio. A sense of joy.
Canary Wharf Group. Brookfield Properties. Stanhope PLC. Each is looking to create experiences that bring moments of wonder, of happiness, of joyousness to anyone who visits, sets up life or goes to work in their developments. It was this emotion that had been missing.
Language as creative spark
Our playdate would unlock every bit of &Dave’s brand: positioning, personality and identity, website experience and key messaging.
Developing a family of foundational brand statements, narrative and tone of voice, we’d taken the leap from stone two to three. The studio loved their new language so much, it guided &Dave's new visual identity. Those who interact with the brand are invited to reveal the joy.
In fact, Mark got so excited by our work that he created a relaunch campaign with joy-filled balloons. Seeing it reminded us of the pleasure we can all find in language, and what happens when people play together in words.
Here's what Mark said about working with us:
"What I love most is that our time together is ironically less about words and more about physical adventure, shared journeys, observations and fun.
"You're gifted with the ability to extract ideas, thoughts and emotions seemingly without anyone knowing. An adventure into the uncomfortable for sure, the result, a destination we’d never arrived at without you."
Creative studio rebrands ain’t easy. It's a balance, creating an identity that expresses who you are, capitalises on the market opportunities, and excites your teams. But when you get it right, the results can be utterly joyful.