Wardle

John Wardle Architects is an internationally renowned practice that has changed the built landscape of Australia. Founded in 1986 by its namesake, it has grown into a thriving team of over 100 design professionals and 13 stakeholders working together to create thoughtful and extraordinary places.

The practice engaged us to identify and define a brand framework that better reflected the size and scale of the organisation – as well as allowed for further evolution of the business.


Uniting a collective of voices

Early on, we identified a key priority in elevating many voices to empower the studio to realise its collective strength. The challenge for us was navigating the many needs and considerations of such a large stakeholder group while striving to unite the team under a shared vision.


Owning the space between

With multiple offices and over 100 staff, John Wardle Architects play in a unique space rich with opportunity. Their inherent creativity and agility are comparable to a small practice, but they boast the expertise, rigour and capabilities required to work on large-scale projects – allowing them to own ‘the space between’.

Signposting a new era

To signify its commitment to a bold new strategic direction, the company required a new name. Despite initially exploring options that moved away from John Wardle’s name, it became evident that it held incredible value to the organisation and its shareholders – thanks to its architectural legacy and high level of recognition.

With this in mind, we simplified the name to ‘Wardle’, retaining a connection to the company’s history while indicating a change in culture from a single figurehead to a collective identity.


Speaking a new visual language

Developing the brand identity presented an exciting opportunity to take the team on a journey and instil pride in their evolution. A key element of this was the ‘&W’ logomark, which speaks to the collaborative approach and creative partnerships that set the practice apart. We brought this to life across collateral, where the names of the clients, companies and artists they work with are treated with the same weight the same as the Wardle name.

Guiding a natural evolution

Much like their work, the new Wardle brand is both confident in its past, sensitive to its present and optimistic about its future.

Through our work we equipped Wardle’s shareholders with the tools to lead the company into a promising new era of collective empowerment and business expansion.

As a company that has played such a significant part in shaping Australia’s architectural history, it is exciting to imagine how they will redefine tomorrow.