I planned and facilitated a stakeholder workshop to define the 100 California problem space and value proposition, designed and codified 100 California’s brand identity, prototyped and designed 100 California’s website, digital marketing assets, and presentation deck, and created the building's signage and environmental graphics.
Pembroke Real Estate acquired 100 California with the goal of transforming it into a Class A property. They engaged our Volume team to help reposition the site alongside architecture firm Blitz’s renovation of the lobby and basement. The overall objective was to cultivate a distictive, memorable sense of place.
To coax nuance and clarity around the 100 California brand experience, we facilitated a stakeholder workshop—guiding the group through problem framing, card sorting, and a “think wrong” ideation. Stakeholders thoughtfully and candidly shared their perspectives.
We synthesized our raw data and competitive analysis into an actionable, north star strategy: “amplify authenticity & approachability + infuse flexibility and forward thinking.“
Our new logo design pays homage to the I-beam symbol of the original (1857) Bethlehem Steel emblem. To construct the mark, I replicated and re-cropped the I-beam shape to celebrate the plurality of people and experiences that 100 California now comprises.
Brand fonts convey intimate, optimistic, and forward-looking attributes. The color palette is inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ 1950 Modular Storage Units—a design notable for having favored flexibility and adaptiveness when such ideas weren’t yet part of the popular lexicon.
Configured in lockups, bands, and as an allover pattern, the “100 tile” brand elements evoke the plurality and diversity of 100 California’s tenants and visitors. Each of the nine tiles consist of 100 elemental shapes—each inspired by a steel support cross section.
Pembroke needed to easily manage content such as lease availabilty, floor plans, and an amenities map. For development we engaged full-stack artisans Aleph, who paired WordPress—the ubiquitous, full-featured content management platform—with cutting-edge front-end technologies. Pembroke is able to update the content in real time while keeping in tact the site’s custom templates and styles.
For commercial leasing brokers, an informative and engaging Keynote presentation is a marketing cornerstone. We worked closely with Pembroke to craft a story that visually convey’s 100 California’s best features with bold imagery and concise language.
We designed the exterior and lobby signage to integrate seamlessly with the buildings existing features. Materiality gives a nod to the site’s industrial, Bethlehem Steel origins. Branded elements are a distinctive and recognizable beacon for 100 Caifornia’s passerbys, visitors, and tenants.
We rendered an aerial view of 100 California and its downtown surroundings with linework from the “100 tile” brand elements—connecting it with the other brand graphics throughout the site.
Each elevator cab visualizes a historical moment related to the original construction of the building—rendered with overprinted color and a collage aesthetic to ensure that the effect is contemporary, not antique.
Placemaking extends to simple touchpoints such as tenant swag and the facility manager’s work shirts.
We created a custom icon system for 100 California that stems from the lineweight and visual style of the logo. In order to prototype the building’s interior flow and major decision points, we tested paper prototypes of each sign before approving them for fabrication.
100 California’s End-of-Trip facilities were a key aspect of the renovation—picking up a highly functional trend in commercial architectural that is popular with Class A buildings in Europe. It encourages cyclists, runners, and anyone needing the space to bring their active lives to work with them. The orange bike lanes depicted in our mural provide useful information for the twenty-first-century worker.
We installed temporary brand signage on the front entrance glass during the lobby’s renovation. Taking advantage of its three-month run, we took the opportunity to test the visibility and presence of the building logo by positioning the temporary vinyl version at full size, crossing over the building’s mullion—which was our recommendation for the forthcoming permanent signage.
Design Agency: Volume Inc.; Creative Directors: Eric Heiman, Adam Brodsley; Design Director: Bryan Bindloss; Designers: Bryan Bindloss, Jon Hioki, Leah Elamin; Web Development: Aleph Incorporated; Architecture: Blitz; Sign Fabrication: Martinelli Environmental Graphics; End-of-Trip Mural Painting: New Bohemia Signs