New legal brand design – for Freedman + Hilmi

One of the great things about having ‘been around’ a while is that we tend to experience growing with our clients. While we’ve completed plenty of identity design over the years, this project I am writing about today covers two rather fantastic ‘firsts’ for us. The work completes a completely new legal brand design. It’s also the first project that we’ve completed after a merger. In this case it’s the blending of our long-time client Freedmans Law and Hilmi+Partners, engaged in similar work to do with commercial real estate.

POSITIVE IDENTITY, NEGATIVE SPACE

The new logo we have devised is an a deeply satisfying one. Made of squared-off blocks, the design uses the negative space or ‘counters’ of the initials F + H to create a bold and graphic look.

We’ve even found that some people like the logo as a graphic shape then realise later what it means. When I found this out, I was thrilled – the idea of a logo with something more to show than just a bit of type has a real allure.

The new legal brand design for Freedman + Hilmi

This logo is also interesting because it’s both corporate and… somehow not.

Ultimately because Freedman + Hilmi’s legal field is in commercial real estate, there’s an element of freedom in the execution of the design. The design can be bolder and more eyecatching than, for instance, a Lincoln’s Inn practice can (or should) be.

For me, this finished logo is such a success. It’s memorable, bold and unusual while feeling right at home in the West End of London, where the firm is based and amid their sector of the legal world.

The Freedman + Hilmi website, part of our new legal brand design project for the newly-merged firm

NEW WEB PRESENCE FOR FREEDMAN + HILMI

With every new identity project comes a new website – right?

Well, almost always.

In fact, this is a new website – albeit one which significantly updates a pre-existing one.

We had completed a website project for Freedmans Law, one half of this new partnership, just a short time before the merger. The site and design were widely liked, but with a merger and new logo came a requirement to update the aesthetic overall.

With this in mind, we have changed up the brand identity, the branding design and use of typography. We’ve also completed a fresh image-selection process and re-cropped every shot used throughout the site, using includes work from across both firms.

Additionally, we have added to the homepage a fantastic, incredibly striking night-time video loop of London’s West End where the firm is based.

The Freedman + Hilmi website, part of our new legal brand design project for the newly-merged firm

The Freedman + Hilmi website, part of our new legal brand design project for the newly-merged firm

A NEW LEGAL BRAND LANGUAGE

The website also completes an interesting project in terms of overall branding and tone of voice.

One of the distinctive thing about this piece of work is the clear, no-nonsense copy used throughout. For us that was at the heart of the brand identity too – an overall approach that is without frills or extra elements while being modern and distinctive.

Ultimately the combination of the use of clear language and a crisp, graphic new legal brand design will come to define Freedman + Hilmi… something we can’t wait to see unfold.

The Freedman + Hilmi website, part of our new legal brand design project for the newly-merged firm

DOES YOUR LAW FIRM NEED A NEW LOGO?
WE SPECIALISE IN NEW LEGAL BRAND DESIGN WORK

With a wide-ranging experience in corporate brand design, we are ideally placed to help your business

Find out more about the Freedman + Hilmi project

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Header photo by David Marcu on Unsplash

The Freedman + Hilmi website, part of our new legal brand design project for the newly-merged firm