Branding | Set Design | Art Direction
Revitalizing a company's internal broadcast studio.
C.W. Driver Companies is a premier builder serving California since 1919. The company’s distinguished history spans a century. C.W. Driver Companies is a multi-faceted builder providing General Contracting, Construction Management and Design-Build services.
After a successful 2020 internal brand launch, C.W. Driver tasked Idea Hall with helping support their company's annual event once again. This time however, we had to do something big, all within a 2 week timeframe.
With an arsenal of feedback, we went to work concepting on how we could grow and increase engagement in 2021. Due to Covid-19, our client wanted to keep the thousands of employees socially distanced continuing the trend of digital events. Instead of opting for highly-produced and pre-recorded videos that we used last year's event, we felt it would be a great opportunity to bring the leaders of the company together once again, while bringing back a part of C.W. Driver that had been forgotten, Studio 102.
After talking to our client we learned that the company had been around so long that their license number was 102, as in being the 102nd licensed builder in all of California history. One element that utilized this nugget was Studio 102, a small internal broadcasting entity that was short-lived years ago. Seeing how it was the 102nd year of the company's history, we felt it was the perfect time to bring the studio back to life.
For this project I was tasked as the lead creative, after building a relationship with the client during last year's event. My role consisted of concepting not only the new branding for the studio but what the new stage and annual event would look like. In addition to the visuals, I worked with our production team to bring the vision to life, while working within the limited budget and short time frame.
The Vision behind the updated branding was to utilize the old logo that was done when the studio was originally founded. From there we modernized it by simplifying the mark, adding in the new brand colors, as well as new typography. To round out the branding, we included a few other marks, and design elements.
As a part of the project for the annual event, my team developed the design of the studio and brought it to life in a matter of 2 weeks. With the new building of the company still under construction, we leaned on the relationships of our client, Discovery Cube. Within this space we took an auditorium and found a way to make it feel warm, inviting while also playing into the industrial look, they are a construction company after all.
My team and I, took to looking for the right furniture, and prop pieces all throughout Orange County. The challenge really set in when we discovered that almost all furniture was out of stock due to shipping and supply chain issues. Luckily we were able to find the right pieces to bring the studio to life.
