Killian Pacific
Killian Pacific had a vision for completely revitalizing Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District. With three incredibly cool properties already built and two more in development, they enlisted our help to bring it all together into one super-tight megabrand system. Welcome to the Electric Blocks.
Parliament develops directional strategies, brand platforms, and creative executions for companies at critical inflection points.
What we do
I am impressed with Parliament’s ability to unearth meaningful insights and connect thoughtful strategy to exceptional design. They challenge us to think differently and push us to explore the edges of our comfort zone. We have been fortunate to work with Parliament on several projects and each is better because of their passion, dedication, and finesse.Emily Fusaro Director of Design Killian Pacific
How do you make five unique commercial business properties all work together under one unified umbrella brand? It took some doing, but the results were electric.
We dug deep into the neighborhood's past and the inspiration behind each building to develop sets of key attributes. With these in hand, we were able to create a cohesive thread between all of the various design elements, messaging, and touch points.
The name game on this project was complex. After naming the alpha brand Electric Blocks, a nod to the area's past life in electrical equipment manufacturing, we needed strong, evocative names for each building – names that incorporated their unique features while still making sense within the broader "electric" theme. Six names, lots of rules. Piece of cake, right?
Starting with Electric Blocks, we developed a neutral and minimal design system. This allowed each individual building sub brand to stand out while also snapping to the larger neighborhood brand.
We created an abstract imagery system that connects energy, artistry, inspiration, and technology throughout all of the buildings.
The Electric Blocks visual system extended to each building creating both a connection to the neighborhood and to each other. Each building also got a bold monochromatic color treatment helping create distinction for the individual properties.
We developed targeted marketing materials including flyers, website comps, and parking passes for each building. These touchpoints brought together the positioning and design system into practical brand extensions that Killian Pacific could use to reach their core audience.
To help give the Electric Blocks another layer of personality and consistency, we worked up guidelines for how the brand does and does not sound. This messaging framework resulted in a treasure trove of guidelines and "liftable", on-brand copy for the client to use directly in their marketing materials.
We wanted to make sure Killian Pacific's internal team could take the Electric Blocks brand and run with it so we created a robust set of plug-and-play standards for imagery, design, and messaging. These very specific guidelines went a long way towards keeping things like leasing flyers and websites in line and on brand.
Uniting and reviving the Central Eastside. Just don’t call it a campus.
Finding the right name is a challenge. Finding 7 right names that all work together...well that took some doing.
The final strategy deck is a tad robust, but it’s a real page-turner.
Thanks to the whole crew at Killian for letting us be part of your vision for transforming the Central Eastside. Building photography and renders by Killian Pacific. Strategy, design, and messaging by Parliament.
