Servicing the real estate market in Hawaii and abroad for nearly 100 years, Title Guaranty is a well known island brand that rarely stops for anything, much less a conversations on typeface. At ASWS, we’re privileged with receiving requests for re-branding or updating a clients visual assets, and TG proved to be our most challenging identity refresh to date.

Assessing all the visual assets and identities existing within the company was the first step to creating a plan and determining design constraints, mostly obvious, but some hidden. Their subsidiary companies, field offices and inter-office communique where part of the larger visual restructure as well.

Like most large companies, the life of a corporate identity can often fall prey to augmentation by internal or external forces over time. From incorrect fonts loaded into MS Word, to overnight design solutions for rapidly developed products or initiatives, TG was prone to those situation and more.

Like painting a moving car, re-branding an active company with specific needs internally and in the field proved challenging. After many discussions with the redesign group to explore new logos, we decided simplification of assets was the best solution overall. The original logo was refreshed with new typefaces and proportions. A graphics manual, updated collateral, typefaces and logo files were generated to support the refresh initiative. Structure and organization of their visual assets proved more valuable than attempting to reinvent a living logo mark. This makes plenty of sense, as their company name implies.

Signage for field offices

The Hawaii Independent is a news gathering website with a focus on hyper local information gathering. With competition from major media outlets and established local new services, the Hawaii Independent requested a logo that matched their forward thinking mission as well as allowing flexibility across the digital landscape. ASWS designed a typographic abbreviation of the letter H and I as three equal columns with an inset circle to represent a lowercase ‘i’. The reinterpretation of the letter combination HI, more commonly seen as the state abbreviation, was a major design challenge to overcome.

Taking queues from The Guardian UK and other independent news establishments, The Hawaii Independent requested the ability to integrate color as part of the overall identity system. Color samples and base typography were built to accompany the logo.

Outlying goals for the identity beyond the website was to create a logo form that could represent both Hawaii as a place and express independence or sovereignty. Traditional media outlets are constrained with station call letters or masthead graphics as a form of identity. For the Hawaii Independent website, visual latitude is inherent in the format but requires larger amounts of promotion to break into public conscience. Our hope is to create a logo that communicates it’s message but has the ability transcends beyond it’s traditional journalistic constraints.

Airspace Workshop developed the logo for the Kona Commons retail center, a joint development of The MacNaughton Group & Kobayashi Group. The Kona Commons identity is derived from three core values: Community, Responsibility, and Quality. Community – Kona Commons as a community hub, providing a space for Kona residents to gather and engage. Responsibility – Kona Commons as a responsible member of the community, committed to thoughtful growth and sustainable initiatives. Quality – Kona Commons as a top-tier retail facility providing unique shopping opportunities to the residents of Kona.

In addition to the primary logo, alternate variations were developed for marketing use and packaged with an Identity Manual that sets guidelines for appropriate logotype implementation. The manual includes examples of proper and improper usage, typography guidelines, acceptable logo variations, and color palette information.

Airspace Workshop developed the identity for US Pacific Development’s residential project, The Vanguard Lofts. Through a collaborative process, Airspace Workshop worked with USPD to identify three core themes for the project: Community, Connected, and Customize. Further exploration of these themes led to the discovery of the Vanguard Lofts name. The core themes were also implemented in the development of the logo, color palette, and associated typography. The identity was later implemented in the print collateral, sales brochure, website, as well as on-site environmental elements.

Airspace Workshop was selected to design the print materials for the 2006 Hawaii International Film Festival. During our initial meeting, the HIFF expressed a desire to establish a Festival brand, something they felt did not exist at the time. The HIFF also wanted to unify its collateral underneath this new brand, and establish a consistency to help strengthen the Festival’s identity.

After reviewing the existing materials, we set out to refine and develop the HIFF logo. The new design is based on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm film aspect ratios, and consists of a strong typographic treatment.

We then implemented the primary design into secondary logo treatments for membership and online applications. An extension of the logo was also created specifically for 2006, the 26th year of the Hawaii International Film Festival. This treatment may be carried forward in upcoming years (27th, 28th, etc.), and ties into specific applications within the collateral, most notably the User Guide and Program Book.

Once the logo design was complete, we began to implement it in HIFF collateral items leading up to the Fall Festival. In execution, these initial items marked the beginning of the brand application, and allowed the new visual identity to slowly permeate into the public domain.

Initial collateral included the membership brochure, promotional inserts, and magazine advertisements.

As the Fall Festival approached, HIFF selected a key visual derived from the Festival trailer. The image is an on-set photograph of the trailer’s main character during a visual effects shot.

Using the key visual, we began to design collateral items for use during the Fall Festival. These included numerous posters, postcards, audience ballots, and Festival passes. The HIFF visual identity was implemented throughout these items, as were various treatments of the key visual.

In addition to print collateral, HIFF produces two publications for the Fall Festival, the User Guide and the Program Book. The 78-page User Guide contains data and synopses for every program, ticketing information, and the Festival schedule. These guides are distributed for free during the Festival, and are the primary source of information for Festival attendees.

The 2006 User Guide design features included a reduction in physical size, a logo masthead, re-organization of program information, and a visual treatment of the Festival schedule.

The 128-page Program Book contains extended synopses and film data for every program in the Festival. It also contains filmmaker bios and additional information on Festival award recipients. This publication is distributed to HIFF members, and made available for purchase to the general public during the Festival.

In total, Airspace Workshop delivered over 200 printed pages, and over 20 collateral items including postcards, posters, advertisements, and brochures.

The Hawaii Life Sciences Council hired Airspace Workshop to develop their corporate identity, including logo, letterhead, business cards, envelopes, and a presentation folder.

During our initial design phase, we consulted with the Council and sought to identify their core values. Throughout our discussions, several keywords began to emerge and solidify: Stewardship, collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.

Using these keywords as a foundation, we began to develop preliminary design concepts. The following designs are representative of our initial efforts:

After gathering client feedback from these initial designs, we continued to synthesize the Council’s core values to a concise symbol. This process resulted in the final design, shown below.

Protected within the type, a single stemmed plant sprouts from a water source. The incorporation of life within the design responds to the multifaceted question, “What does the Council do?” with a simple and subtle answer – nurture.

A secondary leaf flourish was provided to compliment the main typographical logo. The graphic represents a detailed, fully grown plant and serves as an extension of the primary design.

Once the logo was approved, we began to implement the collateral, again providing the client with several initial design concepts. Shown below are the initial business card concepts, each integrating logo elements in a unique fashion.

Based on further client feedback, we arrived at the final collateral designs for business cards, letterhead, and envelopes.

In addition to the press-ready files, we delivered properly formatted files for Microsoft Word, Internet, and broadcast use. A 27-page Identity Standards Manual was also produced for the client, to ensure proper implementation of the identity system by other designers.

Wanting to modernize their image as a premiere source for models and talent, the new ADR logo treatment features sharp typography and emphasizes their strong color palette.

Airspace Workshop delivered a package that included a redesigned ADR logo, letterhead, envelope, and business cards.