Advanced Home Services is a local business that provides a wide range of home services in the Portland area. Everything from Remodels to plumbing and concrete, the small-but-mighty team at AHS does it all.
To kick off the project, I had Lance at AHS fill out a questionnaire to clarify things like project scope, competition and audience. I used the responses to generate what I’m calling a “Vibe Guide”; a list of descriptors the brand should exude and (just as importantly) exclude. This helps us get on the same page of the type of brand we are creating and how it should make potential customers feel.
For AHS the descriptors we settled on were: Personal, Caring, Quality, Do-It-All, Human, and Trustworthy. The vibes we wanted to avoid and contrast with were: Corporate, Techy, Bureaucratic, Emotionless, Disconnected, and Cheap. These would become our north star as we developed the look of the brand.
After we agreed and vibes, I set about creating the moodboard. This consisted of three section: the competition, the possibilities, and my recommendation for the visual direction we should take the brand.
Ultimately we all agreed that the “Retro Reborn” direction was the most appropriate for AHS. It would allow for clear differentiation from their competitors and bring an old school, local, customer service oriented tone that will connect immediately with their target audience.
I presented the first round of concepts and after some discussion, we agreed that the badges and typographic approach from concept two aligned most closely with the brand direction. However, Lance and Hannah ultimately decided that the saw blade was not giving the correct impression. Instead we decided to pursue the vintage mascot approach to pair with the typography.
I put pencil to paper and explored a variety of ideas for the AHS mascot. The client didn’t want to commit to one specific tool that would paint them into a corner as far as services they offered and any personified letter ‘A’ immediately made people think about the ABCs and early education.
In the end, I decided that a toolbox was the perfect solution and you can see here the sketches that ultimately became to the AHS Toolbox.
I built out a very robust logo system that is flexible enough to cover everything from large format marketing efforts to social media and official documents.
I developed a color palette that would reinforce the vintage vibe while still being distinct and eye catching.
The typography is simple, legible, and full of character.
I created a variety of possible use cases and mockups to help the client visualize how their new brand will look ‘in the wild’.
Mockups are great, but nothing beats the real deal. I designed vehicle wraps for the growing AHS fleet that will serve as a major marketing touchpoint and mobile billboard.
Vehicle wraps are becoming more popular in the trades, so it was important that the design stand out from the crowd and make a big impact.
Thanks to the folks at PDX Wraps for doing a great job bringing my designs to life.
It was a joy to work with Lance and Hannah to craft a brand that embodies the friendliness and helpfulness of Advanced Home Services.