Case Web Site is a Community

From conversation number one we knew Case Design wanted to reconfigure its Web site with a goal of building out a strong brand. Since a Web site like what we perceived they needed would involve a lot of back-end work, we brought web developer Mark von Rosenstiel to one of our first meetings. DK loves to collaborate, so when we know there’s a good potential with a particular style, we like to orchestrate talent. We had built a few relationships with area web designers and developers, and knew Mark would be perfect for this. The Case team was very happy with its new site and accompanying logo design—an update to the company’s existing logo. It’s fine to update something, but not change it for the sake of changing it. We don’t like to reinvent wheels.

Here is the design.

Case Design + Project ManagementCase Design + Project ManagementCase Design and Project Management Web Site

And here is the original post:

Seattle architect hires DK for a brand identity design

When Seattle architect Tony Case contacted Design Kompany, he had a vision for a new web site to be something more than just a portfolio or a bulletin board for announcements. He was planning a big office move for his 10+ year-old company, Case Design and Project Management, and wanted something fresh to mark the new beginning for the firm.


We thought it was a great idea. And together with the whole Case Design team we arrived at the brand theme “more with less.” Case’s projects are not only sustainability-minded, they are about letting a thing be what it is and shine. About being conscious of the surrounding, and connecting with it to maximize synergy. The logo that came out of this process eloquently sums up these thoughts.

For the web site, the focus was to bring out Case Design and Project Management’s approach. They had a wish-list: link to their constituencies, showcase their work in a way that shows the process, communicate with their clients. Oh, and cook eggs and bacon in the morning (ha! that is definitely ahead of time). In short, community-oriented. Tony & the Co.’s style is definitely personable, and open. Reflecting that style, both in the design and feel, to the web site was paramount. It’s blog-based, with some custom functionality built-in that the members of the company can use easily to build contents.

Design Kompany knew just the right person to build the back-end. Web developer Mark Von Rosenstiel had created a snazzy web site for the student magazine The Internationalist and was super-savvy in the kind of design that takes advantages of existing systems and plug-ins. Design Kompany’s Akira Morita collaborated with Mark, and lead the Case team along the path to just the right system, and oriented the team with it so once built, they can be in the driver’s seat from the day one.

Which is exactly what happened. The site has been up for a few weeks now, and already there’s a ton of stuff to look at and explore; you can already feel the community forming around it. Well done, guys!

Case Design and Project Management
Case Identity Logo Design
“Tony Case Homes” on Flickr

“It” of Branding by Design Kompany
DK’s mantra: Make it tell a story

Also see:
D+A Studio Architects | Designing D+A Studio’s website
Group3 Architects LLC | Designing Group3 Architects’ website

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1 Response to “Case Web Site is a Community”


  1. Gravatar Icon 1 Sandy Saini Jul 8th, 2009 at 11:04 pm

    Lovely article..Thanks a lot for sharing this.

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DK in 20 seconds



Welcome to Design Kompany.

We exist to help you realize your fullest potential as a small business, using dialogue as a key tool to discern your clear, authentic brand message.

If you value thoughtful conversation, accuracy, and exquisite solutions arrived upon through solid design thinking, you might like DK.

We've done naming, branding design, and message design to help people express a strong core identity. But it has to be based on passion. Smaller companies are a great match for DK, because we love talking marketing and strategy with those owners, whose values and affinities often set the company culture's tone.

We work remotely with people anywhere in the world who are: aware, awake, curious, and respectful of the design process, which we think sets the stage for great design when done well. Talk to us! We're listening. -Dipika


Things we like to write about? Travel, art, architecture, museums, and cafes. Design, materials, design thinking, but more than anything else, process. We like to say, "Trust the process." It really makes a big difference if you start with a fresh page, and think together with us on where and what you can become.

Trains are good, too. Small comments on parenting, or what other people are doing, and what other people are saying about creativity, and the creative process, and a shift from the industrial way of thinking towards more free-form association that jogs new waves of thought --- all of that is DK's beat.

Plus we'll write about people we meet, things we learn, and all the cross-cultural and multiple dimensions of interpretations. We have another blog getting going just to consider dialogue design.

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