We focused on creating a solid logotype and a fresh logo. These marks stand on their own or work together to create a brand that works everywhere, from store windows to the web and other digital products.

We knew when we met the founders of Foxtrot that their business was a game-changer. The convenience store was tired and was not keeping up with the taste of the modern consumer. Thanks to the team at Foxtrot, that was about to change. They created an evolution of the corner store filled with a mix of daily essentials and thoughtful local products. All of this ordered via their app and delivered via bike messenger.

The concept was spot-on, and they needed a brand experience to match. That's where we came in. We obsessed over every touchpoint of the brand - the positioning, the symbol, digital experience, packaging, and more. We created moments of surprise and delight around every corner.

WHQ defines the Foxtrot positioning and brand look and feel for a company that is on the hunt for unque and amazing.

On the hunt for unique and amazing.

Foxtrot

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

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

Sloan introduced a new line of connected faucets and flushometers to reduce installation, service and maintenance time by 50%. Sloan tasked WHQ with developing an intuitive mobile app for maintenance and facility managers to monitor, update and manage their commercial restroom products with one tool… their phone.

A smarter way to run water.

Sloan Connect

Designing a brand that resonates with people in the same irreverent manner the actual sport does was our primary goal. We wanted a dynamic and round icon, with energy that captured the essence of the game. Movement, a sense of action were also essential to us. We aspired to have the logotype, and it’s mark fully connected, but would be equally impactful when they were separated and on their own. After some competitive research, we decided yellow and black were a color tandem that Spikeball could own because it wasn’t found in any other sports brand identity. After many iterations, our WHQ team is proud of the visual vocabulary the Spikeball brand possesses.

Dick's Sporting Goods confirmed they wanted to sell the Spikeball in its stores, REI called next, then Modell's and Big 5 Sporting Goods planned to stock Spikeball. In a welcome to the big-time moment, Spikeball realized it needed to update their point of purchase packaging. The task at hand was to create engaging packaging that would stand out on the shelves amongst the sea of sporting goods products at these stores. A photoshoot with professional Spikeball players (yes, it's a thing) helped show the game in action on the cover of the box. We agreed that including a well designed, iconic overview of rules of the game on the back would help educate potential buyers that aren't aware of the sport.

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.

Spikeball has taken over parks and beaches across the country. What started as a competitive lawn game has quickly grown into one of the most popular sports in America. To be taken seriously in any industry, a new company needs a brand that breaks the mold yet embodies an energy that makes a visceral connection with its newfound audience. 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 around the world.

The fastest-growing sport in America

Spikeball

E-commerce has become one of the most essential ways for a brand to tell its story. The Unison site does just that. Clean, contemporary photography shows off their bright and bold products. We worked to create a system of colors, layouts and typography that would show off Unison’s personality, while keeping the product as the hero.

The primary sales vehicle for Unison is their quarterly printed catalog. We collaborated closely to conceptualize and design each issue — everything from selecting the products, to creating shot lists and directing photo shoots, to iterating through layout options. The catalogs continue to make a strong design statement in the home textiles space and drive sales for the company.

We worked to design and build flexible, branded templates for print and email marketing campaigns, and train the Unison staff in using them. The result — a branded line of printed and digital communication that stays true to the brand while letting Unison determine ongoing content.

Sometimes you get the pleasure of helping build a brand from the ground up. Unison is one of those cases. We began consulting with a small textile group, but as we discovered the reach of their vision, their design bloodline, and their grasp of the industry, we realized we were dealing with something much bigger. In collaboration with their talented team, we created a fresh, modern brand that truly reflects the products and personality of the company.

A way of working together from day one

Unison

User personas to guide the design process

A solid foundational strategy, created in collaboration with Sloan, was important given the scope of the project. While we aligned ourselves with the vision of key stakeholders, we also conducted extensive user interviews to build representative personas for each of Sloan’s primary customer groups. This would prove an invaluable resource for vetting design decisions throughout the process and ensuring that all user needs were being met.

Through multiple iterations, we crafted an aesthetic that would appeal to Sloan’s target audience — designers and architects — while remaining as fast and functional as engineers required. We created a core set of web components that could be reused throughout all of Sloan’s web projects, enabling faster deployment and greater brand consistency. Beautiful typography with a clear hierarchy was an important element, as was the eye-catching use of brand colors. Yet all of this was in service of the true star, Sloan’s products, which took center stage in stunning, full-screen imagery.

As the project progressed, it became clear that there was a lack of high-quality product imagery and iconography that would play a major role in the site’s success. We proposed a brand asset creation project that involved 3D product renderings, case study photography, and flat iconography. We provided art direction for the renderings, creative oversight on case study photoshoots, and execution of the icons — all to ensure a consistency of quality and brand character that comes through in the final site.

Sloan, a 110-year-old global company and leading name in sustainable restroom design, felt that their former website did not adequately address the needs of their key customers and failed to reflect the global and sustainable nature of their brand. We listened and delivered a re-vamped company website that was worthy of a worldwide industry leader.

Owning the whole commercial restroom.

Sloan

We worked with the team at Juice NV to create a brand that is uniquely farmstand in an urban environment. Positioning Juice NV as “Las Vegas’ First Urban Farmstand,” we designed a hand-honed brand that evokes the mixing of flavors and health benefits on their menu.

The juices created by Chef Jermaine were without a doubt the best we’ve ever tasted. Bright citrus, fortified greens, and creamy milks, all supercharged with health benefits and delivered with wink-and-a-nod names like “Beets by waits”, suggesting a connection to the Vegas DJ scene. The concepts were brilliant, and the packaging needed to follow. We designed bottles using bright colors that related to the juices inside and bold typography that ensured these juices would truly stand out.

As an extension of the physical store, the Juice NV website needed to have the same chic energy that characterizes the brand as a whole. Large, hand-honed typography and clean product photography gave the website a combination of fun and sophistication. Giving users' the ability to customize their own juice boxes turned the site into another storefront for Juice NV.

Juice NV is a boutique retail store offering cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices, superfood smoothies, and gourmet raw and prepared foods. Their mission: to bring healthier lifestyle options to the Las Vegas Valley through artisanal fast food and individualized nutrition programs.

Branding Las Vegas’ first urban farmstand

Juice NV

The brand name and identity are effortless because the mission is clear. We worked with the team to name the business. After defining the brand attributes — trustworthy, honest, proactive, and caring — we provided multiple naming concepts. One stood out from the crowd, fitting the friendly but professional character of the company — Lendr. The identity paired a contemporary typeface that feels financial and friendly with an emotive icon that represents the growth of customers' businesses.

It was essential that the loan application process be as painless as possible for everyone, both the customer and the review team at Lendr. We began with a workflow following a user’s path step-by-step through the application, while detailing external dependencies and internal logic at each point. This was followed by a design process that produced a clean, functional interface which removed barriers to application submission and increased customer conversions.

In an economy where it’s almost impossible for small businesses to get traditional loans, Lendr offers fast, friction-free cash advances to help small- and medium-sized businesses grow. Lendr’s unique approach is one that considers customers’ complete business picture—the health of their business, real-time performance and long-term potential, in order to better customize a plan that works for them.

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