Branding, Part 1: Something Old, Something New, Something Blue.

We are finally ready to unveil the new logo for Old Structures Engineering! We aren’t changing who we are or what we do. We simply realized that although we are great at structural engineering––really, we are amazing and you should hire us––we are not as good at marketing ourselves. Therefore, we asked the experts for help. For the past year (and some change) we have been working with an amazing marketing firm, We are Rationale, to update our look and promotional communications. We picked them because they are knowledgable, collaborative, and a Certified B Corporation. We choose a Certified B Corporation because it was important for us to have a consultant that shares our values when it comes to sustainability and social responsibility. They happen to be based in Scotland, with a secondary presence in New York, so the accents are a nice bonus. 

Working with We are Rationale has been a fascinating journey into the world of marketing. In many ways it mirrored the stages of work that we do as structural engineers on old buildings. They began by investing the existing conditions. They spoke with us about what we were currently doing (not much) and how we viewed ourselves as a company. They interviewed our clients to see how we were viewed by them. They researched how other structural engineering firms were presenting themselves. They then designed an updated brand identity based on their research. They listened to the changes that we wanted made and steered us in a direction that accepted our input without creating a Frankensteinbrand identity. After many rounds of design, and many reports, we are now entering the construction administration phase of this project. All of the work in the background will be begin to be implemented and we will see how it holds up.

So, what differences can you expect to see going forward? The first is the our new logo. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. An entirely updated website is coming next. Beyond that, our promotional material and reports will have a more polished look. Our image now better reflects our expertise and professionalism, without trying to replicate what others in our field are doing. We are the same company, we’ve just updated our façade.