Creating an East Coast
Presence for a Classic
Goods Manufacturer.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
POSITIONING
NAMING
BRAND DESIGN
BRAND STRATEGY
VISUAL GUIDELINES
SIGNAGE & WAYFINDING
Credits - A sincere thank you to Sara Fritsch, Brian Faherty & Kirsten Nieman—our visionary client partners. Pittsburgh alignment strategy researched, developed and written by Jodi Glover Thiel. Creative leadership by Adam Bagerski. The Detective Building identity designed by Tyler McRobert, The Bureau designed by Toby Grubb and iconography and signage designed by Kevin Evans. Photography by Chancelor Humphrey and Schoolhouse. Development by Owen Gabbert.
Schoolhouse is a high quality, home goods brand that prides itself on the creation of the modern day heirloom. From lighting and furniture to analog clocks, art and domestic utility goods, Schoolhouse finds inspiration from an innate affection with the past—believing something worth owning now is worth owning forever.
With the establishment of an East Coast headquarters, Schoolhouse needed help defining a localization plan with respect to Pittsburgh (PGH) and the re-alignment of their overall brand strategy. Looking deep into PGH and the East Liberty neighborhood, we found symmetry and insights within the people and neighborhood that mirrored and influenced Schoolhouse.
SCHOOLHOUSE - With the expansion into three cities—Portland, New York and Pittsburgh—and an evolution from purely lighting to a robust collection of home goods inclusive of specialty lighting, it was time for Schoolhouse Electric to simplify its brand and align with city specific badging to honor the sense of place and make, and limited release products.
Along side of the identity changes, Schoolhouse’s brand positioning was updated with the addition of Pittsburgh as a brand and strategic business driver. From history to ethos, brand values, visual language and product tenants, an overarching, holistic brand guidelines was created to unify Schoolhouse across locations.
“This delivered deep and thorough research, inventive yet pertinent concepts, steady execution and a trusted strategic partnership. They were active listeners, held themselves to high levels of accountability and met us where we were. They had good instincts on when to lead us and when to let us lead.”
SARA FRITSCH, PRESIDENT - SCHOOLHOUSE
THE DETECTIVE BUILDING - Massive in character and exposed in concrete, The Detective Building favors a utilitarian beauty that is reflected deep within the East Liberty community and mirrored by the ethos of Schoolhouse.
By partnering with The Beauty Shoppe (local coworking space) and Joey Hilty (of The Vandal) to satitate all things coffee, The Detective Building respectfully supports and faciliates the larger efforts of the neighbors and neighborhood.
Our goal was to translate the utilitarian beauty into an identity and visual language that harkened back to a time of analog tools—shredders, typewriters, landlines, staplers and things (now artifacts) that have a tangible charm and a physical presence. From the wordmark to signage and wayfinding to a custom icon set, everything was born from that utility.
THE BUREAU - The Bureau is an homage to the municipal history of The Detective Building and indirectly to tactile heirloom qualities of Schoolhouse.
Before digital means, shredders were the trade tool for protecting secret information. A combination of historic ubiquity and the result of re-creating a shredded document became the inspiration behind the coffeeshop’s identity.
