EDSA is a global planning, landscape architecture, themed entertainment design, and urban design firm. Their ability to unite people and place organically and functionally has inspired regional transformations that rank above some of the most sought-after destinations in the world. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, EDSA has since spread to major cities all across the world and continue to lead their industry with sustainable, holistically propelled concepts, techniques, and applications.
A Massive Branding Campaign
EDSA has a long-standing reputation as a beacon of progress, conscionable professionalism and innovation.
The leaders at EDSA came to us to repackage the legacy of their prestigious brand with a contemporary aesthetic. Our branding concepts were purposed to show how EDSA’s thought leadership continues to motive designers across industries while inspiring thoughtful environmental awareness in people and communities worldwide.
The magnitude of EDSA’s legacy demanded a full scale multimedia combination of photography, video production, graphic design, and web development. All of these services had to tell a single story. We had our work cut our for us.
A look inside the rebranding process.
Photography
EDSA is such a large, expansive brand that the fine details which make their company so unique can be smothered by what seems like a never-ending wave of media.Our mission was to create a stream of evergreen content that would serve EDSA’s ongoing mission even as their business continues to grow and evolve. Rather than create photography that supports EDSA’s story, we created photography that tells a more specific tale — that of the designer, the emotional stimuli in each design project, and the functionality of people and place. The biggest challenge was telling a single story through so many different human and landscape portraits.
We focused on highlighting the small, important details. When photographing EDSA profiles we integrated the setting to fully capture the pioneering mentality of each designer and principal. We chose to showcase them in their natural habitat surrounded by the literature that inspires their work.
This storytelling mechanic demanded that we take the time to learn about their passions and their motivation. Getting to know each subject added a lot of value to each photograph. It allowed our photographers to empathize with their creativity and their passions, which positively reflected in the quality of each headshot. Every photoshoot began with a 5-minute conversation, and from there we were able to truly highlight the personality of each EDSA principal.
Visual Narratives Drives EDSA's Story
Producing a consistent and effective narrative that would highlight the magnitude of the EDSA brand was a huge task.
Our video production strategy needed to show how EDSA’s many successes birthed such a deeply ingrained company culture — one that has elevated continuously over the last 100 years. Not only did we have to identify the key elements that make their brand so unique, but we also had to translate those values to external audiences as well as long-standing EDSA employees.
Moreover, the various stories we were telling needed to connect into a grand, wholesome narrative. The biggest challenge here was capturing the fire and energy of a brand that has dominated the market for the past 100 years in a 2-minute video.
Inside The Design Studio
When filming EDSA’s video profiles it was essential that we take audience preferences into consideration.
Our content needed to be eye-catching and motivational — a conduit of inspiration to students and industry professionals alike. Simultaneously, the style and language needed to remain consistent with EDSA’s professionalism. That was our recipe for delivering powerful content and producing effective results regardless of the viewer.
To external audiences, EDSA is a pioneering force shaping humanity’s connection to time and place through amazing design concepts. To the internal audience — the EDSA employee and principal — EDSA is a lifestyle. In that, their brand exceeds their industry. EDSA represents more than just landscape architecture. Our video series weaved in these important brand elements, ultimately appealing to various audiences without segregating or alienating any of our readers.
The EDSA Website
With so many offices in so many major cities across the world, the EDSA website needed to inform audiences on their far-reaching global presence. Their longstanding history provided a library of content which was both restricting and liberating. Though there was no shortage of media there were limitations on what webpages they could live on and how we could connect all these areas of focus seamlessly. Segmenting EDSA principles concerning planning, landscape architecture, and urban design while showing how these practices come together to facilitate each project was crucial in establishing the professional nature and magnitude of EDSA’s global mission.
We adjusted the header functionality next. The header titles become visible upon first scroll and stick to the top of the site. Because of this we needed to immediately introduce EDSA's services. We inserted their four core services directly under the About Us text block so viewers could locate their primary disciplines without clicking through to a new page.
The "Take A Look" section was redeveloped to deliver more information. Ultimately, we wanted more ways to hook EDSA's audience. So, we shifted to include more industry-specific content. This section is now titled "Insights" and operates as a news source in addition to case studies.
The web development process shifted the original design of the EDSA website. Our Lead Web Developer recognized minor limitations that would ultimately affect navigation and access to vital information, and therefore made specific alterations.
First, we improved the hero section at the top of the website to deliver immediate snippets of information to show EDSA's expertise. This new introduction helped guide viewers through the site the way we wanted them to navigate it.
Our decision to move the services section to the top of the homepage opened up additional space for us to dedicate to EDSA's magnificent portfolio.
Given that EDSA's portfolio is so large, we needed to streamline access to their best work. This ultimately changed the layout from a comprehensive "Works" page to a "Featured Works" section. In the end, it was the user experience that led to these improvements in the interface.
The next big challenge on the EDSA portfolio was making sure their projects were easy to locate. We provided two filtering options to fullfil this need. Users can either segment EDSA's project based on institution and discipline or via location, which was also instrumental in showcasing how expansive the brand is.
To support the above sections, we integrated a legacy portion to the site. This reinforced EDSA's presence as pioneers in their industry, The timeline format and slide functionality make this section very easy to use. It also does a great job at hooking the reader. Once the viewer begins to scroll through the decades to learn of EDSA's legacy they tend to slow down and actually read their history, which we think is a great way of increasing brand loyalty.
The Leadership section of the website was not originally a part of the sitemap. It was added during the web development process because our team wanted a better way to showcase EDSA's core group of leaders. On the main page of the site, the grid of headshots shown here moves from right to left and loops continuously.
Upon completion of the site, we integrated a function so users can select between English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. The selected language would alter certain elements in the site, such as the contact form. When selecting Mandarin Chinese, the contact form would update to include WeChat -- the primary Chinese communication service.
Fortune Magazine
Fortune Magazine
When Fortune Magazine invited Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to our studio for a private photo shoot, we asked Hollywood’s biggest star if we could take his photograph. This is the result.
Dwayne, if you’re seeing this, you’re welcome back any time.
HauteHouse Brands
Theorie | Sedu
A union of beauty brands that link grace, elegance, style & confidence to science & nature.
Science in Beauty
A lifestyle curated by stunning hair products & salon-quality hair tools.
Theorie – an upscale, luxury brand that encourages women of all styles & hair types to radiate confidence by embracing their natural beauty.
Sedu – an exciting, anything-goes beauty line that defines identity & living with loud colors & rebellious imagery.
In this, we created a universal approach to support various marketing initiatives & media concepts that define each brand as “a moment.”
The Challenge
We needed to create unique, precise media that framed HauteHouse’s stylistic attitude while still portraying all the different ways of being beautiful & feeling beautiful. These ideas of beauty are refined & unique to the individual, yet we had to maintain a global identity – in both region & hair type – to appeal to consumers from various walks of life. It was important to highlight all the unique hairstyles, textures & colors to successfully market this wide range of consumers.
The rebranding of HauteHouse brands, Theorie and Sedu, also required a full product makeover. We needed to merge beautiful product images with scientific explanations of the formulas in order to successfully relay the message: “science in nature.”
The Yogi
is at peace
The Socialite
lives it up
The Professional
makes moves
LIFE - STYLE.
To successfully market these two beauty brands – brands that were unique in their audience & marketing application yet similar in style & attitude – we had to first provide an identity for each. This involved establishing an association between these brands & familiar sensations felt by the consumer. Our lifestyle marketing approach was a blending of curated media with the consumer’s experiences, memories, & desires in order to situate those feelings in the here & now, thus leading them to a purchase.
In effect, establishing the Theorie & Sedu brands as a state of being [you] opened avenues for more effective product marketing via email, digital, & social.
ALL HAIR TYPESImagery representing the [you] in lifestyle had to spotlight color, style, texture, density, length & movement.
Sedu is a moment.
That's our Theorie.
Product Marketing
After selling the lifestyle we sell the products. This order of operations changed the way our consumers interact with our product marketing campaigns. In retail locations, the smell of a product may produce nostalgia & lead to a purchase. We needed to induce a similar longing in a digital medium.
To achieve this, while simultaneously strengthening our brands’ images, we associated HauteHouse products with nature & the environment of its application. The products’ association with nature solidified the organic ingredients & thoughtful formulas used to infuse them; whereas, the association with the environment & sensory application provoked nostalgia.
Our social media marketing campaigns involved uniting product & lifestyle marketing through video tutorials & Instagram stories. This established a greater brand-consumer bond, ultimately encouraging our audience to trust & value our messaging even more.
Both applications ultimately encouraged consumers to purchase a product, click through to a video advertisement, or subscribe to an emailing list.
HauteHouse brands lead the beauty industry with expertly crafted salon-quality hair tools. Our media & language was shaped to spotlight the superiority in each hair tool – the Titansculpt™ technology, tourmaline-infused ionic technology, precision heat settings, ceramic plates, & heat-resistant textile cords. Our media was designed to help the consumer recognize & appreciate the craftsmanship & utility of each accessory.
This was crucial in ranking our voice above the competition. By defining Haute House brands as expert & unmatched by competitors, we attained a certain prestige, which we used to leverage greater results in product & lifestyle marketing.
Sedu
Theorie
Digital Marketing
We delivered the revitalized HauteHouse brands to consumers through a series of digital marketing initiatives. This focused strongly on email marketing, which we used to drive consumers to landing pages where they could directly make a purchase, as well as landing pages featuring collateral HauteHouse promotions, like Glossy Box.
Our email marketing strategy was an accumulation of featured products, how-to’s, insider-tips, scientific explanations of product formulas, & newsworthy content to promote the premiere of Theorie hair tools at Ulta Beauty.
By combining free, useful knowledge with product deals & discounts in the same eye-catching, easy-to-read packaging we converted more passive audience members into consumers and more active consumers into loyal customers.
Let's Work Together
Interested in creating striking visuals for your brand? Contact us today to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals.
