Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer
We're so happy to bring you the new Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer logo and rebrand today! We completed our total rebrand package for HEWN about a month ago, but last night was the firm's big reveal at an awesome open house.
The best part about this branding process? The truly collaborative nature of the design!
Client: Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer
Work Completed: Logo + Brand Redesign
Objective: Craft a fully functional brand focused on modern strength and sophistication with a flexible logo
HEWN's previous logo, which focused solely on the first letter of the partners' last names.
HEWN first called us up because their old logo was a simple letter-based stack: HE on top and WN below to signify the partners' names.
But this presented a problem for the company: Focusing on the partners' names meant that the logo was limited to the company's current roles. And partnerships can change!
So the big challenge for the Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer rebrand was to create a recognizable icon that could stand apart from those names.
Step 1: The Vision
Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer needed their rebrand to exude strength and sophistication with a modern, sleek finish.
The full picture started to come together when we began crafting HEWN's Brand Vision Board: Classic chestnut tones paired with a refined eggshell and subtle textures were the cornerstones of our palette.
The Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer Brand Vision Board.
Step 2: Research
After approval on our Vision Board, we started exploring icons to match the sophisticated look the brand needed. Our research on heraldry and traditional symbols signifying strength presented us with great options: a shield, a star, a light house, and a lion.
Throughout our drafting process, the lion kept standing out as the right fit for the company. We knew that clients would be able to immediately identify the strength, respect, and prowess represented by a lion and associate those qualities with HEWN.
Now we just needed to nail the style.
Step 3: Concepts
We honed in on perfecting sketches and icon illustration and presented four concepts to HEWN. Our strong favorite was the option which acted as both an icon and and ampersand to tie the partners' names together.
Check out the options we presented! You can see that the ampersand lion below is well on its way to the final stylized image, though it would still go through some big changes.
Our initial icon presentation.
Step 4: The Pitch
Now, I won't tell you we didn't have to do some pushing.
This logo was a huge departure from the firm's existing logo and moved the firm in a MUCH more modern direction. Some companies aren't willing to make that leap.
And I'll be honest, I was pretty sure we were going to lose the argument when we went into a presentation with five badass attorneys.
BUT the meeting went well: The most impressive thing about HEWN is, by far, that they trusted us to do our jobs and knew we were the experts in this arena. So after some explanations and some reasoning on our part they agreed to move forward with the sleek, modern ampersand lion.
Step 5: Revision
But they did want some tweaks:
They wanted one continuous line and a subtle change in weight throughout the illustration.
And I think that feedback was perfect. Their great feedback helped us create a more stately and even stronger logo icon than what we started with: The perfect product of collaboration.
Below you'll see HEWN's final Brand Board. This includes their colors, fonts and even some logo effects. You can see one ad already completed for the group below. I love how they have embraced blush as one of their tones. I think this brings a really strong but soft vibe to the brand. They often deal with highly emotional cases, and must communicate a humanness to their identity as well.
The final reveal!
HEWN's final Brand Board.
Last but not least! Additional Collateral
Magazine ad for Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer
For one of HEWN's collateral pieces we created a magazine ad highlighting their combined years of experience. This was also a cool opportunity to showcase their brand's gold foil effect. Check it out below!
We also LOVED the opportunity to create an awesome new metal sign for the firm's office here in downtown Columbia, Missouri.
Harper Evans Wade & Netemeyer held a great brand reveal open house just last night and I live Instagrammed it of course 😉
It's so been fun to play with this color palette and utilize the brand's textures and sleek, refined effects across multiple pieces.
Collaborating with the whole staff here at Hoot Design Co. and with the team over at HEWN really made this brand what it is today. You know what they say: two heads are better than one!
We're so pleased with this rebrand! HEWN has been a great client and a pleasure to work with.
So tell us what you think! We're all ears!
Love KGB.
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