Creating powerful communications
When Ardent contacted us their previous brand had remained unchanged for 15+ years, and, although it had served them well, their business was unrecognisable in 2023 to what it was in the mid noughties.... The world has changed, and Ardent has changed too. They have grown from a small firm of specialist Chartered Surveyors and land referencers, to a consultancy of almost 150 people, incorporating some of the country’s leading land and property experts, consent managers and stakeholder engagement experts.
Under the leadership of the returning Jonathan Stott, there was no better time to develop the Ardent brand and prepare for the next phase of growth.
Developing the new Ardent brand was an inclusive journey that involved a large number of the Ardent team. The first phase was to run an interactive discovery session which involved people from across the Ardent business. Here we delved into who Ardent are, what they stand for, their values, tone of voice, core audience profiles, key messages and core proposition. This was supported by a company wide questionnaire which allowed the whole business to provide key insight into how the Ardent brand needed to evolve and coupled with the insights taken from the discovery session allowed us to create the new Ardent brand proposition and strategy.
Ardent describes itself as delivering life-improving change for communities and future generations. It does this through a team of experienced experts in each area the Ardent brand touches and during the design process, we defined Ardent as standing for quality, growth, experience and its people.
The company's reputation is built on the trust of its existing clients which has been formed through the quality of the service Ardent provides. However, their old brand failed to connect with potential new clients and was widely regarded as dated and ineffective in communicating what Ardent did. Ardent needed a new strong and confident visual that would support its clearly defined brand message.
Revenue growth
Increase in website engagement
To build upon their existing reputation, we retained the colour blue which was widely associated with Ardent, but refined it and made it part of an extended colour palette that now includes multiple shades of blue and the introduction of green for a bold and vibrant feel.
Focusing on Ardent’s unique proposition of being the only company that can take you from concept to completion, we used the line detail within the old Ardent logo to create a new visual journey.
Not a linear straight line from A to B, but the twisting and turning journey that represents the way Ardent takes the time to understand each client's individual needs and create custom solutions through knowledge, experience, and innovation.
The playful nature of the journey graphic creates a striking visual that is friendly and exciting. Over time this will become as recognisable as the Ardent logo and become instantly identified as the Ardent brand.
This bold and confident styling is replicated in the logo which is a strong typographic mark with a custom 'A'. This bespoke letter, with its curved crossbar, works as part of the name or as a stand alone icon that can be used with the journey graphic growing from the crossbar to create striking brand visuals.
The typeface was carefully selected for its varying stroke widths to complement the movement of the journey graphic. This character and variety of font weights help to strengthen the impact of the brand.
The result is a new brand that is bold, confident, and friendly, effectively communicating Ardent's unique proposition and reinforcing their reputation as a company that provides life-improving change. The new Ardent website now provides a clear user journey, making it easier for potential clients to find the information they need, whilst also cementing Ardent as a market leading organisation and an employer of choice.
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