Updated 12/04/224

Reimagining a legacy through cohesive design systems, refreshed branding, and strategic creativity.

Enjoy an 8 minute scroll through the process of redesigning a nearly 75 year old brand.

The challenge was to modernize Naumann Hobbs' identity, a brand with decades of history in the material handling industry, while preserving the trust and reliability that their customers had come to expect.

Old Logo

New Logo

Naumann Hobbs had a well-established presence, but its visual identity felt outdated and inconsistent across different channels.

The goal was to create a cohesive, modern design that would appeal to a broader audience, including a younger demographic, without alienating existing customers. Additionally, there was a need to streamline the brand's messaging, improve brand recall, and create a more unified visual presence across digital and physical touchpoints.

We faced the challenge of aligning multiple stakeholders, each with different perspectives on the brand's evolution, and needed to balance innovation with respect for the brand's history.

More Old Naumann Hobbs Logos

The design system was created with scalability and consistency in mind, ensuring that every aspect of the brand—whether in print, digital, or physical products—maintained a unified look and feel.

I developed a comprehensive style guide that included primary and secondary color palettes, typography hierarchy, iconography, and component libraries.

This ensured that the brand could be applied consistently across all platforms and touchpoints, making it easy for any designer or team to implement without losing the integrity of the brand.

My role in art direction was central to ensuring that the visual identity aligned with Naumann Hobbs' core values of reliability, innovation, and strength.

I worked closely with the creative team to develop a visual language that conveyed these values across all brand touchpoints. This involved setting the overall tone for photography, illustration, and design styles, and ensuring a consistent aesthetic across all media.

I directed photoshoots to capture authentic imagery that reflects the brand’s industrial roots while still feeling approachable and modern.

I also established guidelines for iconography and visual hierarchy to ensure clarity and engagement, whether the content was a billboard, social post, or product brochure. This comprehensive approach helped maintain a cohesive and memorable brand identity.

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To solve the challenge of modernizing while maintaining flexibility, I created a refreshed logo style with multiple shapes and levels of detail. This approach ensured that no matter what medium the logo was placed on—whether it was digital, print, or merchandise—we had a clean, versatile logo that read well and looked visually appealing. The logos were designed to be scalable and adaptable, maintaining their impact and clarity across different applications.

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The redesigned logo emphasizes Naumann Hobbs' dedication to customer service by incorporating a retro-style name tag badge, reminiscent of those sewn on the uniforms of Naumann Hobbs technicians. This visual element reinforces the company's commitment to providing the best customer service in the Southwest, showcasing that the rebrand is equally about service excellence and visual modernization. 

The rebranding effort didn't end at the design stage—we successfully coordinated and launched a refreshed social media presence for Naumann Hobbs, ensuring the new identity resonated across all digital channels. My team and I created branded social media templates and developed a strategic content plan that highlighted the company’s values and offerings in a more visually appealing and cohesive way.

The posts featured bold visuals and messaging that aligned with the new brand tone, resulting in increased engagement and positive feedback from our audience. By leveraging consistent, high-quality designs, we elevated the company's LinkedIn presence, reaching a wider audience and improving brand recall.

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