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We help clients articulate the answers to “Who are you?” and “What do you stand for?” We feel that in order to accurately guide our clients we need to get to the core of our clients’ concerns and aspirations to gain the insights we need. Only then can we offer accurate brand strategy, naming, identity, communication design, marketing communications, web design and social media and SEO (search engine optimization) for online marketing initiatives. In a nutshell, we help customers first determine what they need, not just want they want, and then deliver.

We work for a variety of clients, and have developed unique skills specializing in mid-to- large professional services firms, which are typically partner-led organizations such as architects, engineers and related industries. Check out our various case studies to see recent client work for a better idea of our capabilities.

Professional services firms commonly run by founders, partners and stakeholders are often faced with challenges moving their own brand and identity related projects forward, without becoming mired in contrasting subjective opinions, or stepping outside their comfort zone in applying design to their unique market situations. In larger firms with specific design and marketing staff, objective, third party assistance that extends beyond pure design execution is critical to driving projects forward. In both cases, our unique style allows us to remove the clutter from the process in order to make advances on our clients’ business goals. Here are some insights into our process we employ to determine the best fit for new clients and projects.

First off, let's be straight. Most descriptions of any unique selling proposition (USP) used in marketing design firms are a bunch of nonsense. At the end of the day, the only really unique thing about us is who we've worked for, the work and results we've produced, and the people who make up our team. What we can promise you is that the directors in our firm lead our projects personally, with an experienced team of engaged and dedicated people who do not impose what we know on our clients, or make assumptions. We listen and immerse ourselves in brands and situations, and pursue the right questions so we may understand firsthand the forces at play internally and externally. One aspect of our approach that is fairly unique is how we empower our clients to maintain and grow brand and marketing functions without leaving them beholden to us. Our objective is to uncover and share truths and insights so we can provide effective tools, training and resources that our clients can own and intelligently use. For example, we deliver a brand platform to our clients as a secure online resource center we call Styleguide, not just a pretty brand book with a PDF and folder full of electronic files. For an example of how we do this, check out styleguide.industrialbrand.com (Username: admin Password: admin). We know that although our clients often wish to maintain an ongoing and longterm business partnerships, if we've done our job right, moving a corporate brand positively forward should be able to happen with or without us. Although that which makes us unique usually create genuine and lasting relationships.

We deliver on promises. We represent value, and our clients regularly say they enjoy the process of working with us. Many of our clients come to us as referrals and repeat business. We shouldn’t brag, so we’ll let them speak for us.

Typically our minimum level of initial engagement is $15,000, though the majority of our clients spend between $50,000-$75,000 per project. Clarity is very important to us, and at the outset of an engagement, not all facets of need are apparent—actually, they rarely are. We have found that an initial approach to challenge, define and validate project requirements is ideal. In all cases, we provide thorough written estimates before commencing work. This recent article expresses some of our views on pricing which you might find interesting.

Typically, no. As a recent article on RFPs explains, we don’t believe the RFP process results in accurately revealing the right partners for a given project. We may consider an RFP under certain open and fair conditions. With a limited amount of new clients we can take on annually, we promise we will be forthright if we feel the work is not a good fit for either of us.

Our main office  is in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a satellite office in Chicago, Illinois, but we have clients all across North America and sometimes even Europe and Asia. We love to meet our clients face-to-face as much as possible and is practical. At other times we communicate seamlessly online. Here's a link to our headquarters on GoogleMaps.

Almost all design firms claim to have a creative process, but the truth is they are all rather similar. It’s when a tested methodology, combined with experience and abilities, is applied to a client’s unique situation that magic happens. Here is a brief overview of ours.

Our methodology is intended to always move projects forward, without surprises and ‘big reveals’. However, there are instances we may be asked to revisit work. In our opinion, this is a natural and allowable part of the process. Our first step in these situations is to ensure the rationale is aligned with the strategy and then probe for insights and determine appropriate next steps.

An initial consultation process can take as little as two weeks, whereas a large strategic naming and identity project is likely to take several months or more. We’re at our best when our clients have budgeted time to allow for careful consideration, testing and refinement in advance of a launch date.

Yes. In smaller firms we often work directly with a managing partner, and in mid-to large size firms a marketing manager, communications person or department, and even in-house graphic design talent are more common. Each requires a slightly different approach, but always with a common goal of delivering tools and resources to build on our work.

Yes, we do indeed, among other strategy and brand consulting services—both tradition and online. Please click here to see our full service offering and here to meet our team.

We do. It’s actually our preference so we can guarantee a high level of quality and deliver on strategy. We want to establish the standards from which our clients may then take over. For example, with new identities we typically work with the printer to produce the initial order and then pass the relationship to our clients for simple stationery re-ordering.

You do.  We never hold onto anything we’ve done for clients after we’ve been paid in full. That’s one of the things that distinguishes us from other companies—every asset we create is yours to keep and use.

Our focus must always be on current clients first, but the initial work for a new relationship can begin quickly as we work out the balance of the project and schedule. We always factor in client scheduling requirements and never take on projects unless we can commit to a delivery date.

Yes, our team consists of CGD professionals who are certified by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada and our firm belongs to the Association of Professional Design Firms. As such, we adhere to the highest legal, ethical and best practices standards applicable.

If we can’t help you, we would be happy to assist you in finding someone who can. A good start might be to explore the list of certified professional members on GDC.net.

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment and strive to create business practices that support sustainability. Click here for more comprehensive information on our sustainable practices.

The original impetus for the name ‘Industrial’ stems from the notion of the more powerful and strong solutions used for commercial purposes. The analogy is commercial cleaning products versus those used for light-duty tasks in a home. The stronger stuff requires some skill, training and caution to apply effectively. Seems an appropriate way to think about what we do don’t you think?

We’re glad you asked. There are many things, but by far the most universal is, food. So much so in fact that we have a fun little side project called Foodists.ca. Born of our food-based posts to our original corporate blog, over the years it’s morphed into an international collective of almost 50 (and growing) similarly obsessed food fanatics. Check it out, but be warned, you will never get those hours and hours spent reading and salivating back!

Besides basic information like budget and timeline parameters, it is very important for clients to have a clear vision of what their goals, objectives and milestones are. Likewise, who your audience is and their priorities and preferences can be tremendously useful to our team. Examples of similar projects, often competitors, can often be useful ways to gain understanding of what you're trying to achieve. Finally, considering how success will be measured can help us remain focussed on solutions that produce results for you. New clients should read this article before engaging us.

As we make the business case for ROI-- in terms of investing in positioning, messaging, identity design and branding -- we avoid making sweeping promises about bottom line short-term contributions to revenues and profits. Branding requires a view to the future, so ROI has to include the value of a unified internal self identity that comes with a branding exercise, and also of having all stakeholders on board. Our experience has shown that consistency = client loyalty = repeat business & referrals = ROI. We have a long track record of developing highly effective identity and communication design for our clients, which regularly helps them win work.

Our role is not to come in to tear everything apart simply for the sake of making something new. We always keep in mind that our clients are experienced experts, often hyper-focused and suspicious of marketing. As experts in our field, we've had success infusing this process (which can be emotional) with passionate enthusiasm. The result is even the most suspicious architect, engineer, or other professional will engage and embrace the change that leads to growth and success in their businesses. We ask smart questions, listen carefully to all concerns, respect perspectives, and make sure everyone feels included as a collaborator in this process—not subject to the whims of external consultants. This strategy results in management and others seeing the potential of authentic brand positioning and marketing. We welcome the complexities and challenges that come with retaining good brand equity to attain goals. Our work depends on having trusting relationships based on core competencies.

The most honest and effective measure of our success is to refer you to those we've served in the past; to see how our other clients have experienced our process and trusted us as expert consultants. We invite you to analyze our work and the results we've produced for our recent clients, and to speak with them directly. If you prefer, we do have a few videos of recent clients talking about their experiences working with us.

We try to be as anticipatory as possible when designing an identity, codifying it, and institutionalizing it with controls and mechanisms such as our Styleguide system. However, the true responsibility for championing the brand and maintaining brand consistency ultimately resides with you—often it’s the internal marketing manager. With Styleguide, and personal long term relationships with our clients, we provide the tools and support needed to make it easier to stay on brand and thus there is less opportunity to stray inconsistently.

We help our clients launch their brands internally and educate their staff about the brand (not just the logo), helping them buy into it (believe), so that each one of them can serve as brand ambassadors, and so that every new staff member going forward can be educated and immersed in the brand in person. Once a brand is launched and living, it requires tracking and diligence, which we assist with. If a brand touch-point no longer communicates the right message, we help our clients understand how to adjust and adapt. We offer ongoing counsel, bi-yearly brand audits to review brand application and usage, and recommendations so that the internal team can apply the brand consistently without unnecessary external cost. Some of the other specific expertise we provide include: social media strategy and execution, website maintenance and performance updates, and competitive marketing audits.