Porter Dodson wanted to expand and grow their business, while retaining their personal and intimate level of service. However, their existing branding was dated and lacked emotional equity. As an organisation, they struggled to communicate their values and purpose – their messaging was unclear, and multiple messages and target audiences were often delivered through one channel, with no separation between private and commercial messaging.

Furthermore, the firm wanted to attract younger clients in more urban locations, who often prefer modern and dynamic branding that speaks directly to their needs and values. Their branding did not resonate with this demographic, and was held back by a rigid, inflexible brand identity system. Advertising often relied on stock imagery, which of course lacked ownership and authenticity.

To better understand the firm’s brand identity and the challenges it faced, we conducted extensive workshops and focus groups with internal stakeholders and external audiences. This research helped us to identify several weaknesses, including the unclear communication of values and organisational purpose, and the extensive use of jargon and terminology across primary communications. Through this research, we developed five brand pillars that tied into Porter Dodson’s overall business strategy.

The new visual identity of the brand centred around navy blue, which represented stability and trust. We used a red-pink colour for personal legal services and a teal/mint green for commercial legal services to differentiate the two services visually, whilst adding a touch of vitality and freshness. The identity was designed to be flexible and adaptable, with a focus on digital marketing use cases such as social media and animated advertising.