Set to deliver an unprecedented sense of adaptive reuse—by including large sections of the original tilt-up building on the façade—Q21 was to boast a brave new look in one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods.
The building would offer new residents a sense of belonging to place and to history through a hand-selected, curated group of robust retail, food, and drink offerings ringing the ground floor. This would be a place of inclusion, of relationships, of the entrepreneurial spirit—an invitation to join the family, and to go ahead and have a seat at the table.
The brand needed to evoke the personal, connected, and relationship-driven culture behind the building’s development team. The idea was to show an attitude and personality in the building’s story—a vibrant, strong intellect always engaged in full-spectrum living expressed in the highly authentic, handcrafted experience of place.
Using the large mural planned for the lobby as springboard for expression, we crafted a brand that reflects the vibrant, energetic, authentic and connected experience of living in the building.
We strove to allow the messaging to Speak to the reclaimed and repurposed bones of the previous structure on the site, as well as many other applications of authentic re-use throughout the new building.
The brand visuals embody bold colors and brave choices of scale and juxtaposition, paired with the clarity and organization offered in the direct and straightforward layout of elements. The resulting brand captures the energy and personality of the building itself while keeping a clarity and directness to the visual language.
