Suttle & Stalnaker
BRAND IDENTITY | VISUAL DESIGN SYSTEM | WEBSITE
Professional Excellence by Design:
Helping an Established CPA Firm Stand Out in its Field
Suttle & Stalnaker PLLC is a long respected certified public accounting firm in West Virginia, with offices in Charleston, Morgantown and Parkersburg. They specialize in advising a variety of industry sectors, including auto dealerships and construction operations, financial institutions, and nonprofit and government agencies.
For more than 45 years, Suttle & Stalnaker has built strong client relationships and supported the communities in which they work and live. But in today's market space they face fierce competition from other regional and lower cost agencies. They needed to re-establish a clear point of difference and their unique way of working with their clients.
The challenge
The existing brand identity was not representative of the sort of firm Suttle & Stalnaker had become. They needed to portray their existing professional and technical excellence, but do this with a contemporary twist. In addition, they understood the importance of attracting fresh talent to the company while continuing to grow and nurture their existing professional staff.
To meet the challenge of rejuvenating their brand identity, we redesigned the company logo - often the first point of contact and identity for the brand. We made the logo feel more polished and relevant to today's market space. And we also refreshed their website to reflect their culture of communication and experience.
New logo design
For the new logo we combined the traditional ampersand from the original with a contemporary typeface, bridging the firm's values and its professional expertise. The monogram now sits within a circle, representing teamwork, inclusion and community. A strong symbol of the organization's core culture.
The new color palette is green, blue and gold. We wanted to retain the green for continuity. We then added blue to signify trust, and a sparkle of gold to keep the look fresh. By happy coincidence, we later discovered the blue and gold are similar to the colors of the West Virginia University Mountaineers, a football team with many fans at the Suttle & Stalnaker offices. This adds a subtle element of local community to the design.
"Fresh" is a brand attribute they wanted to express.
New website design
The new website had to serve two purposes. Primarily as a marketing vehicle for clients, and also as a recruitment portal for potential candidates looking to begin or elevate their careers.
To meet these objectives, we partnered with our sister agency Terrier Tenacity, specialists in digital marketing, for their WordPress development expertise. The final result is a fresh, vibrant design that is easy to navigate.
Additional features, like specific industry icons, help clients easily locate the information and services they need. And for potential candidates, the careers page covers the benefits of working for Suttle & Stalnaker in a simple, efficient layout.
Meeting the brief
The new logo brings a clean and modern look to the company while retaining the essence of its original character. And the website showcases the firm with a brand identity that projects its true personality.
Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.
Paul Rand