Branding Case Study | 30|90 Marketing

Case Study: Branding

A brand must help an organization explain who it is, communicate consistently, present itself professionally, and give internal teams a clear reference point for future marketing decisions.

30|90 Marketing develops brand identities that address both the visual and verbal sides of that work. Depending on the client, an engagement may include a new logo or logo refinement, color and typography standards, a style guide, messaging language, brand voice, onboarding language, templates, print collateral, digital assets, or a complete system for carrying the identity across multiple audiences and platforms.

Our process begins by identifying what already exists, what the organization needs to communicate, who needs to understand it, and where the brand will actually be used. From there, we define the identity and create the assets required to put it into practice.

The Challenge

Some clients have a recognizable name but no consistent visual system. Others have an established logo but lack clear language for describing their work. A growing company may need its brand to accommodate new business lines, while a municipality or development may need a separate identity for a specific initiative or audience.

The common issue is inconsistency. Without agreed-upon standards, different people may describe the organization differently, create materials that look unrelated, or make decisions from project to project without a shared reference.

That can affect everything from a business card to a proposal, website, social post, visitor guide, investor presentation, or new employee onboarding.

Our Approach

30|90 treats branding as an identity system rather than an isolated design assignment.

We begin with discovery to understand the organization, its audiences, services, differentiators, existing materials, internal vocabulary, and communication needs. That work informs both the visual identity and the language surrounding it.

From there, the process may include:

Brand discovery and identity development

Logo creation, redesign, or refinement

Primary and secondary logo marks

Color palette and typography standards

Brand style guides

Messaging language and positioning

Voice and terminology guidelines

Service and company descriptions

Internal and client onboarding language

Website and social media applications

Business cards, stationery, brochures, presentations, signage, and other collateral

Templates and assets that internal teams can continue using

The objective is to give the client enough structure to maintain consistency without making the brand difficult to use.

Branding Across Different Organizations

The finished system looks different for every client because the business need behind it is different.

For Jillian Marie Photography, the work included a logo redesign, visual refinement, service messaging, social media, newsletters, print collateral, and ongoing communications. The result is a visual and verbal system that can be carried from a digital post to a client-facing brochure without losing the studio’s character.

For the City of Westwego, 30|90 created a tourism sub-brand featuring the city’s alligator and developed a coordinated group of maps, brochures, rack cards, and walking-tour materials. The identity gave individual attractions a common visual and messaging framework while helping visitors understand the city as one destination.

For Clearview City Center, 30|90 developed branding and messaging to support a major redevelopment. The work included an abbreviated logo mark incorporated into the redevelopment’s broader design, a stationery package, and a booklet presenting renderings, plans, demographics, and geographic information.

Kodiak Partners required a brand capable of working across real estate, education, coaching, and private investment audiences. 30|90 developed brand materials, websites, brochures, investor presentations, social content, stationery, and promotional pieces that could support those distinct uses while remaining recognizable as Kodiak.

Our work with VergesRome demonstrates how an established brand can also be extended. Project pages, presentations, proposals, award submissions, publications, website content, and other communications are developed within a consistent framework so the firm’s technical work is documented and presented clearly across different settings.

Even shorter assignments can require brand development. For Capstone at the Oaks, a Banyan Foundation property without an established social media presence, 30|90 created a visual style and campaign language that could be used consistently across Facebook content, advertising, and leasing collateral.

From Identity to Application

Our branding work frequently continues into the materials employees, clients, residents, investors, visitors, or other stakeholders actually encounter. A style guide establishes the standards. Messaging language defines how the organization speaks. Templates and finished assets demonstrate how those standards work in practice.

For some clients, that means developing a complete identity at launch. For others, it means formalizing a brand that has evolved informally over time. It can also mean creating a sub-brand for a new development, program, destination, service, or campaign while maintaining a clear relationship to the parent organization.

The Result

The finished product is a defined identity and a usable set of tools.

Clients leave the branding process with clearer visual standards, agreed-upon language, and assets that can be applied across routine communications without restarting the branding conversation every time a new piece is created.

That consistency also supports future growth. New employees have language to reference. Designers and vendors have standards to follow. Marketing materials look related. New services or initiatives can be evaluated against an established identity rather than developed independently.

For 30|90, branding is the process of determining how an organization should look, sound, and present itself, then building the materials that make those decisions usable.