We create transformative brands, interfaces, and experiences that move the world forward.

On the hunt for unique and amazing.

Foxtrot

Modern design meets modular solutions.

Arktura

The fastest-growing sport in America

Spikeball

Through several collaborative work sessions with the Maple & Ash team, we created an aesthetic that feels part classic steakhouse, part fashion brand. The mark is a monogram, reminiscent of a cattle brand, the very origin of the word brand, yet drawn with sophistication as if it exists on a finely tailored suit. The clean lines and sharp corners form a modern, geometric shape that is symmetrical yet deviant — a strong yet sexy base upon which to build the brand.

With menu items like baller seafood platters and the “I Don’t Give a F*@k” tasting menu that kicks off with caviar bumps and champagne shots, Maple & Ash celebrates classic conventions in unexpected and delightful ways, all in the name of creating celebratory and memorable moments for their guests. We strove to echo this in all aspects of the design, from refined art-deco inspired patterns to bold typographic combinations, to playful illustration and imagery.

Maple & Ash has been praised as the hottest restaurant in Chicago by Conde Nast and has received numerous other accolades from top national publications, including Wallpaper, Wall Street Journal, and Eater.

Maple & Ash, named for the two woods used to fire steaks, chops, and everything else Chef Danny Grant can think of, came to us for help developing the brand for their innovative steakhouse. After a competitive audit and in-depth conversations with the Maple & Ash team, we concluded that the spirit of the restaurant was authentic, celebratory, and bold. These guiding principles would inform every design decision as we set out to create a world-class brand.

The steakhouse done right

Maple and Ash

Once we sampled the dishes, we knew Etta had something special, and it was our job to make sure the brand told the right story. We went to work to create a brand that was as warm and approachable as the dishes from the hearth. We used rough serif typography and hand-drawn illustrations with simple, elegant applications. The Etta brand is sophisticated and timeless, whether made of tile, stitched on clothing or die-cut out of steel.

Brand creation for a contemporary casual restaurant.

etta

Extensive user testing was essential to establishing the best possible experience. We quickly realized that to get the most useful feedback, we would need to wear the Metria IH1 for a seven-day period ourselves. This provided a valuable immersion into the data and allowed us to create a truly human-centered interface.

The Metria IH1 application needed to give users easy access to a range of data from their last wear period, including calories, burned, steps taken, sleep duration, and more. It was important that the interface be simple, despite the detail of the data that the device collects. At the same time, medical researchers and health professionals needed access to the full range of data points. We iterated through multiple interface options before reaching a solution that successfully accommodated both use cases.

Among the technical challenges of the Metria project was the connection between the device data and the application interface. We wrote a custom API to connect the two and established an OAuth 2 server for authenticating with the custom API. This allowed only authorized developers to use Metria data in their own applications.

Web development was a true collaboration: WHQ brought a modern front-end stack to the table, and Metria brought a solid backend infrastructure. The site is built in Laravel, one of two frameworks we prefer to work with. Laravel pulls in data to build a static, single-directory, serverless website that can be deployed to S3 or a CDN for optimal performance.

WHQ provided expertise in usability and workflow to improve the brand experience on our desktop and mobile app. Their deep understanding of architecture and design always impresses me.

Metria, a wearable sensor from Vancive Medical Technologies, collects health and fitness data with greater accuracy than any other device on the market. Applications in medical research, health insurance, and day-to-day life, along with ease of use and disposability, make Metria IH1 an exciting next-generation lifestyle product. We partnered with the Vancive team to design and develop an application that visualizes the collected data, provides insightful lifestyle suggestions to users, and measures up to the breakthrough nature of the product itself.

Designing a UI for a wearable sensor

Metria

Dick’s Sporting Goods called, next REI, then Modell’s, and quickly the Big 5 Sporting Goods planned to stock Spikeball. In a welcome to the big-time moment, Spikeball realized it needed to up their POP game. They tasked WHQ with creating a box that would remind current ballers how amazing the game is and show potential ballers the excitement of the product. A photoshoot with professional Spikeball players (yes, it’s a thing) gave us the assets to show the game in action on the box. Functionally, the product was loose in the packaging, so our engineering team went to work to define a simple structure and slide-out form to present the product to its new owner. Yeah, we Spiked it.

VP of Marketing & Recovering Corporate American

We've partnered with WHQ on everything from establishing our packaging architecture to designing a line of apparel. Their deep understanding of our brand and audience always shines through the thoughtful, impactful work.

What started as a competitive lawn game has quickly grown into one of America’s most popular sports. Spikeball has taken over parks and beaches across the country. To be taken seriously in any industry, a new company needs a brand that breaks the mold and embodies its newfound audience’s energy. Spikeball is no different and remains the perfect example of a company that’s achieved the near-impossible, an iconic brand that becomes widely known worldwide.

We worked with the team at Spikeball to design a brand that resonates with people in the same irreverent manner of the sport. We created a dynamic, reverberating icon that captured the movement and energy of the game. The logotype and its mark work when paired but are equally impactful on their own. From Spikeball Pro jerseys to Shark Tank to ESPN, our team takes pride in seeing how pervasive the mark has become.

We create transformative brands, interfaces, and experiences that move the world forward.

Maple and Ash

etta

Metria

Spikeball

Have a project for us?