Creating A Company Anniversary Campaign
On January 14th, 2023, Whitestone celebrated 10 years as a business. This milestone led to the creation of the Whitestone 10 Year Anniversary Campaign, which recognizes our success as a business over the past decade and will be highlighted throughout this monumental year. The campaign focused on the milestones Whitestone has achieved and incorporated our core ethos of Human, Collaborative, Contemporary, Original, and Reliable.
Our art department designed a chapter of our logo and brand standards that sits alongside our heritage logo and brand standards to highlight the anniversary. This chapter is a nod to the past achievements of Whitestone.
Developing the Campaign
The design team at Whitestone met with our CEO, Joseph Sommer, to brainstorm ideas for the 10 Year Anniversary Campaign. Joseph and the team decided that it was important to highlight the stone in the company name, Whitestone. They discussed the major milestones Whitestone has achieved and the need for a clear visual that presents these milestones.
Lighthouse: The lighthouse was the original logo for Whitestone. The lighthouse represented the family and human values and shined a light forward towards future endeavors.
Stone: Years later we rebranded the logo from the lighthouse to the first version of a stone. The stone was chosen to represent the commitment and pledge we make to provide an easy and enjoyable purchasing experience while producing quality custom branded products for our clients.
Lava: While the original stone logo served us well, we eventually grew out of it and felt the vibrant shades and clunky geometry were keeping us in a startup lens. Our current logo keeps in mind our brand motto, “No Two Stones are Alike” by literally showing three unique stone shapes.
Design Process
Each designer created a unique pitch which included new imagery, photography, typography, social posts, branded merchandise, and a clear story line to embody all that Whitestone stands for. They then presented their ideas to the entire staff, who had the opportunity to vote on their favorite of the campaigns. The winning campaign became the theme for our 10 Year Anniversary Campaign, giving every team member a voice and a clear understanding of the branding for our big celebration.
The Campaign Concept
The Whitestone Anniversary Campaign is modeled after two things: cairns stones and scrapbooking. Cairns stones are heaps of rocks commonly stacked as landmarks, monuments, and memorials. Throughout Whitestone’s 10 years, many monumental experiences have defined the company’s journey, and cairns stones are a clear symbolic link for this campaign.
In addition to cairns stones, scrapbooking is also a method of preserving monumental moments of a lifetime, and the campaign leaned into thid aesthetics.
With the combination of these two concepts, Whitestone’s 10 Year Anniversary pays an ode to the past, while shining a light on our future. Through the collaborative efforts of the people of Whitestone and its suppliers and clients, we came together to write this story.
Visual Identity
Combining sources of inspiration, the 10 Year Anniversary logo is created from stacked cairns that form the number 10.
Tying in Whitestone’s language is also important, so the color palette used in the campaign was carefully chosen to align with our Ethos. Each color holds a special connection to a specific Whitestone Ethos.
Cairns forms and scrapbooking style is applied across the campaign’s visual identity. Whitestone designers combined unique forms and intentional colors into various patterns, used across web pages, newsletters, branded merchandise, and our social media channels.
Want to get inspired? Check out our essential merch, perfect for your next campaign.
Want to see the final products we created for this campaign? Click the button below to explore.
PPAI Gold Award Recognition
As a testament to the creativity and dedication behind our 10 Year Anniversary Campaign, we are thrilled to announce that Whitestone won Gold at the PPAI Pyramid Awards. This recognition honors the innovative approach, storytelling, and collaborative efforts that went into bringing the campaign to life.
The award is a proud milestone in our journey, highlighting the hard work of the entire Whitestone team and the strong partnership with our suppliers and clients. Winning this prestigious award reinforces our commitment to delivering exceptional work and marks another major achievement as we celebrate 10 years of business success.