For two decades, Nephropath had been a highly respected—and highly successful—kidney biopsy lab serving hospitals and doctors across the US. When they decided to expand their services into other clinical areas, it was time for discussion about brand strategy. Several management and clinician interviews informed a new brand and naming architecture, and we created a new overarching company name that spoke to their rare expertise as well as their base in Arkansas, while Pentagram invented a new identity system for them.

With the communications staff at this historic Massachusetts boarding and day school, we audited and analyzed the tone of voice and messaging approaches used by a range of top-tier New England private schools with whom CA competes for applicants. Using those findings—along with new insights gleaned from a series of student, parent, alumni, and faculty interviews—we worked together to update the school’s brand identity, website, and marketing materials in advance of the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding. 

In anticipation of a world of global travelers—and the travel industry itself—emerging from the pandemic, Expedia contacted us to help them think in fresh ways about the vast array of names and nomenclature they'd employed in the past for their rewards program offerings, blogs, and traveler booking benefits. With a naming team spanning Sydney, London, Seattle, and New York, we reviewed naming systems and approaches, developed an array of new names for nearly a dozen brand applications, created tiering systems and proprietary language for innovations and offerings, and advised on linguistic and cultural acceptability, online search parameters, and worldwide naming implementation.

The parent organization of such well-known Los Angeles events as the Independent Spirit Awards and the Film Series at LACMA was itself far less visible and well known to its audiences and potential members. We worked with design firm: Pentagram, to define Film Independent’s brand, explore the opinions its board and industry allies held about its future, and bring its brand expression up to date and in line with the visual vibrancy of its offerings.

Digital publisher Inboxlab asked us to develop a new name, visual identity system, and internal cultural platform—one that captured and conveyed values and interests shared among the growing company and its 20M+ subscribers. We took a close look at what motivated them all—and kept them coming back for more: the wonder of learning. Once the name Likemind was chosen, we went on to design Likemind’s new logo and visual identity system, create onboarding assets, and compose key messaging for the launch of the Likemind brand internally, with its partners, and to its large audience.

Founded in 1957 and family-run until 2018, The Spice House is a purveyor of fine spices, herbs, blends, and extracts based in Chicago. New leadership retained Saidwell to develop the brand’s tone of voice as part of a comprehensive rebranding. We took a storytelling approach in which we integrated the precise description of the flavor profile and purpose of each product, along with history, lore, and anecdotes associated with each spice, herb, blend, or extract. The resulting voice is both functional and narrative. Saidwell went on to write label copy for 500 individual products, thereafter adapted for web and search engine optimization. 

A wildly popular—and proliferating—family of YouTube educational channels came to Pentagram with a conundrum: how should they plan for brand expansion and extension, yet stay true to their zany roots? After interviewing the primary show hosts about their aspirations, ideas, and preferences, and auditing their parent Google’s own naming structures, we created a range of architectures to help them understand the possibilities for organizing and naming their expanding portfolio of brands.