ART DIRECTION | BRAND GUIDELINES | BRAND TEMPLATES & ASSETS
RS&H
Visual Identity Refresh
CLIENT
RS&H (In-House)
INDUSTRY
Architecture, Engineering, & Consulting
YEAR COMPLETED
2025
MY ROLE
Art Direction
Visual Development
Copywriting
Asset & Template Creation & Management
THE CHALLENGE
RS&H’s main graphic element was limited in its flexibility and inconsistently applied across the firm’s marketing materials, services, and industries
Transparent gradients in existing brand elements presented issues in printed marketing and sales materials
THE OBJECTIVE
Refresh RS&H’s Visual Identity to address limitations in existing graphics
Update RS&H’s Asset and Template Libraries for designers and marketing associates throughout the firm
Expand RS&H’s color palette and logo suite
Revise the visual identity portion of RS&H’s brand guidelines for use by fellow designers within the firm
ONE BECOMES THREE
SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE
I performed an audit of our existing branded materials, including recruitment and sales materials, social assets, intranet graphics, and RFPs. The main graphic elements, created just a few years prior, were the Sun Rays, which were applied in a variety of ways throughout the content. I noted:
Busy visual layouts
Non-specific color palettes
Inconsistent treatment of Sun Rays—the existing graphic elements—consisting of overlapping gradient rectangles
Overlay effects that distracted from high-profile project photographs
Disparity of visuals between different service groups and industries
A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH
It was clear that a more adaptable solution was needed — one that could weave cleanly into information-dense materials while also being visually striking enough to accentuate cover images and marketing materials.
Through a process of experimentation and trial-and-error testing in one-off internal communications, I, along with support and feedback from my team, split the Sun Rays into Three Distinct Graphic Elements, which we came to call:
The Uptick Line
The Uptick Box
Gradient Rays
SETTING THE TONE & SHOWING THE WAY
STAYING POSITIVE
The original Sun Ray graphics represented hope and forward movement, with the rising progression from the brand’s primary blue color to a golden, secondary palette hue in the top right.
The Uptick—AKA, the canted angle at the end of the Uptick Line or corner of the Uptick Box—was actually an element adapted from an unrelated redesign of the RS&H website a couple of years prior. My team and I fine-tuned this 28° angle to match the one present within the RS&H logo, unifying the brand’s upward momentum throughout the new graphic elements.
DON’T GET IT TWISTED
As stewards of our brand’s voice at the enterprise level, it was crucial for my team to ensure that no matter how the assets would be used or adapted, the messages of optimism and forward momentum would not be betrayed by a downward-angled line or a backward gradient.
I included a variety of ways the Uptick Line or Box could be used, while also conveying the importance of consistency with aspects like angle placement and gradient makeup that set the tone for RS&H’s visual language and tone.
KEEPING IT ON THE DOWN-LOW
While I was focusing on the new line and box elements, my teammate, Amy, had been playing around with a way to incorporate the existing Sun Rays in a less obtrusive form, ultimately landing on the Gradient Rays.
This new element, characterized by simplified, two-color gradients cropped into a neat rectangle, could add visual interest to the background of certain layouts without drawing focus from images or text. It was easily cropped, and could integrate smoothly with the Uptick Line and Box, thanks to the uniform angle present in all three new elements.
SEE IT FOR YOURSELF
ASSET LIBRARY
UPTICK LINE
UPTICK BOX
GRADIENT RAYS
MY TEAM
Brandon Pogrob (That’s Me)
Art Director
Amy Coons
Sr. Creative Services Specialist
Amanda Pye
Assoc. Director, Creative Services
Jennifer Stutts
SVP, Communications