A brand that build bridges
Workshop | Brand strategy | Design | Guidelines | Collateral | Website
Project overview
NZ Piling and Cranage is a trusted name in the construction industry, specialising in piling services essential for the stability of structures across New Zealand. Despite their solid reputation, their brand identity needed a significant refresh.
Firslty, their existing logos (they had two) were outdated and overly complex, featuring either both a crane and a driller or a crane only – when the core of the business is more about drilling. This made it hard for all of their partners to understand and remember what the business was really about.
Moreover, NZ Piling had no online presence, limiting their ability to reach potential new clients, which was part of their overall ambition. and finally, the other important aspect was to subtly convey the founders’ Māori heritage and their connection to the land through the new visual identity, as it was significant for the team.
Re:brand was engaged to modernise the business visual identity and build their website from scratch.
The Challenge:
Creating a new visual identity that reflected the company’s professionalism while subtly incorporating references to the founders’ Māori heritage was at the core of our strategy. The goal was to build a brand that conveyed their unrivalled expertise on their market and unique heritage without overcomplicating the design and stay true to their mission.
Our Approach:
Research and Strategy:
We started by analysing NZ Piling’s position in the market and competitors, identifying ways to modernise their brand while honouring their cultural roots.
We also engaged with NZPC main clients to better understand what was critical to them and what were NZ Piling and Cranage key strengths that positioned them over their competitors. The strategy that this informed was to focus on streamlining their visual identity. It became clear that a strong symbol would help us embody what the brand was truly recognised for: the unique and superior solidity of their experience and, therefore, of their installations.
Creative Development:
The first step was to redesign the logo with a clear focus on simplification. By removing unnecessary elements such as the crane and driller, we were ready to craft a clean, bold mark that symbolised stability and professionalism. With a will to subtly refer to the founders’ Māori heritage, we knew we should incorporate into the design, a symbol that would connect the brand to the land, which was so important for the team’s cultural heritage. The Pou was the most obvious and most relevant option to convey stability, durability, security – core expectations from their clients.
Implementation:
We implemented the new visual identity consistently across the brand materials, designing branded machinery and merchandising, but first and foremost, we were tasked to build the company’s website, ensuring that the new logo and design elements aligned with the overall brand refresh in its new online presence.
The website:
The website was built with a focus on usability and professionalism, ensuring it effectively showcased NZ Piling’s capabilities and made it easy for clients to engage with the company. Our re:brand digital team developed the website from scratch. We decided to build it on a WordPress CMS, ensuring it was not only easy to manage by the NZ Piling team once we would hand it over, but also seamless to navigate for any visitor landing on the new home page.
By following UX best practices and applying the new brand identity design directions, we created a streamlined, user-friendly structure that allows potential clients to quickly access essential information about the company’s services and values.
The Outcome:
The new brand identity gave NZ Piling a modern, memorable look that resonates with their core values of strength and reliability. The simplified logo, with its subtle but impactful nod to Māori heritage, successfully reflects both their technical expertise and their cultural connection to the land. The website now provides a strong digital presence, helping NZ Piling attract and engage potential clients in a competitive market. With a sleek, easy-to-navigate website, their services are now presented clearly and professionally to their audience.
Final Thoughts:
To us, this project is the typical illustration of our evidence-led process purpose. Informed by a research phase that highlighted what was truly key to the brand, our team was able to conceptualise a relevant and impactful visual identity. Well executed and combined with a sleek online presence, a brand’s visual identity becomes the driving force behind a business’s first impression and long-term recognition.
In this case, the new NZ Piling brand is now a genuine reflection of their professionalism, expertise, and cultural heritage, effectively positioning them for continued success.
