Pesky Problem
Epp Concrete Construction is a company located in Lincoln, Nebraska that specializes in foundation repair, waterproofing, and new construction for residential and commercial markets. Founded in 1994, Epp Concrete is a family-run business and locally-run company that promises distinctive quality and unparalleled customer service.
Epp Concrete approached Transformation Marketing with the formidable task of re-branding the company, beginning with a new logo. This would then expand into a new website design, over 50 print pieces, videos, social media campaigns, and more.
The team at Epp Concrete had struggled for years to settle on a new logo design, leaving their branding to become aged and outdated. After a few failed attempts to refresh their look, they came to us with a strong desire to get it right this time around.
Epp Concrete is a faith-based company that places great importance on community involvement and improvement. It was imperative that the new design would reflect the culture of their company. As a testament to this, Epp Concrete referenced the Three Pillars of Christianity (Faith, Hope, and Love) as an idea for a logo element. Additionally, they expressed clearly that they wanted to avoid obvious construction clichés, such as a trowel or a concrete mixer, for example.
With these ideas in mind, Transformation Marketing began to formulate a plan to ease the client through a process in which they had combated for years.
Marketing Strategy
Given a framework for the logo design, the first step was to conduct research on Epp Concrete as a company. This mainly included studying their website from top to bottom, checking all of their social media outlets, reading customer reviews, and reviewing promotional materials detailing Epp Concrete and the services they offer.
After completing this first step, the next move was to scout the web for design inspiration. This process involved looking to competing companies to gather an idea of what they had done, while gaining an awareness that would allow us to create something different from these competitors. Google, Pinterest, and Dribbble also served as sources of inspiration for a wider perspective of ideas.
Next, we began the design process. The initial thought was to mesh the Three Pillars with a play on the letter E, given that the characteristics of the letter E would easily allow for this to happen. We also took into consideration designing a logo with a solid “foundation”, since Epp Concrete specializes in foundation repair. Not only would it literally represent the foundation of an establishment, but the culture of the company too, given that they build customer relationships based on a foundation of trust and integrity.
From there, hand-drawn sketches were produced to experiment with multiple variations of this logo idea. After narrowing it down further, these logo ideas were refined in Adobe Illustrator. The designs then led to a series of revisions, internal review at Transformation Marketing, and collaboration with the client. Epp Concrete requested that we mock-up a few of the logo variations on hats, polo shirts, and various trucks so that they could better envision the design at large. These mock-ups assisted the client in making their final choice in logo, which would ultimately guide the vision of their branding as a whole.
Using the logo as a starting point, we then had the challenge of creating an all-encompassing brand for Epp Concrete. This would encompass the creation of a website, over 50 print pieces, videos, and social media campaigns. We felt that the look should represent the robust nature of concrete, with typography and a color palette to complement this feel. The client expressed a desire in having a brand that was heavily illustration-based, in order to detail the services and processes that they offer. These aspects were all influencers in Epp Concrete’s final branding solution.
TM Results
Epp Concrete was ecstatic to finally settle on a refreshed logo and look for their company. When presented with the final round of revisions, they were happy to report that their vision had been achieved, quoted as saying, “That’s the one!”. From here, we had the initiative to begin creating a plethora of branded materials.
The first step was to construct a cohesive brand from the ground up. In order to complement the new logo, we implemented the use of bold, geometric elements to make a strong statement. We felt that the use of diagonal angles and shapes could help break up the monotony of a majorly boxy, rectangular design.
Keeping with a bold theme, we chose a deep red as Epp Concrete’s flagship color, in order to command attention and evoke passion. Since red is such a vibrant color, we neutralized it by using a set of greys and black to bring it back to a sturdy, reliable base. This theme carries over to the typography, pairing a strong serif font for headers (Proxima Nova Bold) with a defined slab serif for body copy (Tisa Pro). The decision to use clean, geometric vector-based imagery and illustrations was to complement these elements, as well as satisfy Epp Concrete’s desire for wide use of illustration.
Once the branding was solidified, Epp Concrete entrusted Transformation Marketing to create a website, over 50 print pieces, videos, and granted us complete control over their social media. We are honored to have achieved such wonderful results for a company that had struggled to overcome this obstacle in the past.
