Case study · Architectural products

Repositioning a reclaimed-wood manufacturer around sustainability and design, and launching a new wall-system brand.

An established Pacific Northwest manufacturer of reclaimed and sustainably sourced wood products wanted architects and designers to see it for its sustainability and design innovation. At the same time, it was bringing a new modular wall system to market.

A modular wall of textured and solid acoustic panels in charcoal and gray, installed in a glass-walled office

Client: Architectural products manufacturer, Pacific Northwest
Role: Director of Marketing, embedded
Timeline: 11 months
Scope: Go-to-market, rebrand, product launch, websites

The challenge

A respected maker, and a new product with no brand yet.

The company had built its name on reclaimed and responsibly sourced wood: cladding, tabletops, stair treads, and custom fabrication for commercial interiors. It wanted the architecture and design community to recognize the sustainability and design thinking behind that work.

It was also launching something new: a modular wall system of magnetic panels in wood, acoustic felt, fabric, metal, and color that designers can mix, match, and rearrange without tools. The product needed a name people would remember, a brand, a complete sales toolkit, and a plan for reaching specifiers.

What I did

Four elements, from audit to launch.

01Diagnose

Audit & go-to-market plan

Ran the marketing audits behind a new go-to-market plan for the company and the launch.

02Position

Corporate rebrand

Led the rebrand and repositioned the company around sustainability and design innovation.

03Launch

New brand & sales toolkit

Brand guidelines, a lookbook in three formats, spec sheets for seven panel lines, sample-box packaging, and library insert cards.

04Show

Photography, web & events

Art-directed four product photo shoots, directed the build of two websites, and produced trade-show displays and rep presentations.

Results

A clearer story, and a product the trade press noticed.

Product award

Won a national interior-design trade publication's product award.

Press

Featured in a design magazine's wall-and-ceiling materials roundup.

7 panel lines

Launched with a full sales toolkit: lookbook, spec sheets, samples, and packaging.

Full rebrand

Company repositioned around sustainability, with two new websites.

“A great option for easily redesigning conference rooms, lobbies and other such spaces.”
Awards judges, on the new wall system

Portfolio

Selected work from the launch.

Lookbook spread introducing wood, metal, and color-block panels with interior photography — **Lookbook**A designer-facing lookbook produced in spread, letter, and A4 formats, pairing each panel line with styled interiors.

Lookbook spread for acoustic felt, acoustic fabric, felt board, and pin board panels — **Lookbook**Acoustic felt, fabric, felt board, and pin board, each with its own use case and color story.

A sculptural white panel with an organic cell pattern mounted on metal rails — **Product photography**One of four art-directed shoots, showing the panels and the magnetic rail system they hang on.

Wood panel specification sheet with dimensions, finishes, and swatches — **Spec sheets**Redesigned specification sheets for seven panel lines, written for architects and specifiers.

Five colorways of a diagonal two-tone wood panel, from white to walnut — **Colorway photography**Consistent swatch photography for a designer collection in five finishes.

Dieline for a sample-box mailer in teal, yellow, and white — **Packaging**A sample-box mailer that carries the brand's modular blocks onto every surface.

Illustrated insert card reading “I'd look great in your library” — **Library insert card**A playful card asking design firms to keep the samples in their material libraries.

Program sheet showing three wood cladding collections in many finishes — **Quick-ship program**A sales sheet for an in-stock cladding program: three collections, two-week lead time.

Client and product names withheld. Brand marks have been removed from the work shown.