A new name for a sixty‑year‑old firm.
In 2020, Ward Howell International became August Leadership. We took the new brand to every place the firm meets people: its printed pieces, its portraits, its website and its launch on social media.
- Strategy
- Tech
- Client
- Industry
- Executive search
- Disciplines
- Brand collaterals, photography, website, social media, launch
- Year
- 2020
The challenge
Ward Howell International had led executive search for more than 60 years, still under the name of its late founder. With a new leadership team and global plans for 2020, the firm needed more than a face-lift: it needed a complete makeover.
60+
years in executive search, carried into a new name.
Present in 5 countries and 15 cities, with its base in New York City.
Where we started
An honest look at the old mark.
Elegant, but with too much contrast, three colors and no optical alignment. It was very hard to read, print and reproduce at small sizes.
“We chose a simple word to capture the essence of what makes us effective: August. A word that conveys someone respected, dignified and impressive. That is an August Leader, rare and precious in today's changing world.”
The identity
Heritage and the future, in one brand.
Our sister agency Monumento designed the identity around two worlds: one rooted in experience and heritage, the other in innovation. We carried it into everything the firm prints, with an image that's avant-garde but serious and high-class.
Brand collateralsFolder, brochure, business cards
A new brand for a new decade.
Photoshoot
The firm, as it really works.
To create original content for the website and the printed pieces, we photographed one of the firm's Partners Meetings, capturing how the partners work together and a portrait of each member.
A company built for the future.
As new challenges came up in the new economy, we pushed the identity across the digital ecosystem, blending excellence and innovation at every point where people meet the brand.
Website
Made for the next generation of leaders.
Beautiful, functional and very fast. The website brings the new brand to life with a mix of seriousness and modernity: partners, practices and locations, each one a click away.
- Needed · Phone screen · Home, mobile · 9:16
Home
- Needed · Phone screen · A partner profile, mobile · 9:16
Partner profile
- Needed · Phone screen · Practices, mobile · 9:16
Practices
Launch
The new name, post by post.
We launched the brand on social media: the announcement of the new name and why it was chosen, welcomes for new partners, the opening of the London office and dates like International Women's Day 2020.
Credits
- Naming
- Sophie Devonshire, Caffeine Partnership
- Identity
- Monumento (Trepa Estudio Creativo)
- Photography
- Emily Jayne Alexander
- Collaterals, website, social media
- WAOF®