Defining Brand and Creative for a Modern Legacy
Overview
Ames Construction is a multigenerational, $2B civil contractor with a national footprint and a deeply rooted legacy. The brand needed a modern, unified creative system—one capable of supporting growth, clarifying storytelling across business units, and elevating its presence across digital, experiential, internal, and external channels without losing its heritage.
EldrBrandr's Role
Creative Direction • Brand Architecture • Strategic Storytelling
Served as the central creative leader across the enterprise—directing brand, narrative, and design systems and aligning stakeholders, regions, and business units under a single, unified creative vision.
The Challenge
Ames had powerful stories—but no cohesive system to express them. Brand usage varied across business units, digital experiences were fragmented, internal communications lacked consistency, and visual standards had fallen out of sync with the organization’s scale and ambition.
The challenge was not reinvention, but alignment: creating clarity, elevating craft, and unifying the brand without disrupting a deeply respected legacy.
Ames’ legacy identity had become fragmented—creating inconsistencies across regions, platforms, and business units.
With a full logo redesign off the table, the focus shifted to modernization through format, governance, and clear brand standards.
The Approach
A disciplined, enterprise-wide creative transformation focused on alignment, clarity, and long-term scalability—designed to modernize the brand without disrupting a deeply respected legacy.
Narrative & Strategic Foundations
Clarified and unified the brand story to support consistent storytelling across regions, teams, and business units. The work established a shared narrative framework—aligning tone, messaging, and brand pillars to ensure Ames spoke with one voice, regardless of audience or channel.
Visual & Design Systems
Directed the evolution of Ames’ visual identity by establishing modern design standards, templates, and guidelines. Expanded color, typography, and imagery systems ensured consistency while giving teams the flexibility to communicate effectively across digital, print, and motion environments.
Digital & Social Creative Direction
• Led website design and digital ecosystem creative
• Built social content systems to elevate visibility and engagement
• Directed photography, videography, and brand film initiatives
The Result
A unified, modernized brand system that brought clarity and consistency to a complex, national organization—while preserving the equity of a deeply respected legacy.
The work established a scalable creative foundation Ames continues to build on, enabling clearer storytelling, stronger internal alignment, and a more confident external presence across digital, experiential, and operational touchpoints.
