Swor & Gatto - Kanso®

Swor & Gatto.

Agency:

This project was completed while working as a Senior Designer at Sussner.

Swor & Gatto were well known around Minnesota. If you live here, you may have even heard of them. The problem was everyone who hadn't heard of them yet. And to a stranger, they looked like any other firm. They found traction on SEO only when people were in critical accidents. But they wanted to be thought of BEFORE their clients needed them the most.

The answer was in the name.

During my research, I knew I wanted to leverage what they have instead of starting over. They're known around Minnesota for their name, and everything else could go. The answer was staring me in the face. The ampersand is what connected the two families, and represents exactly what they do for their clients. I built the creative direction off of this immediately and pitched the concept to the client. They loved it, so I got right to work. It's the best feeling knowing you have an idea the client believes in before you even put the pencil to paper.

One ampersand to rule them all.

The solution is simple. A monogram that combines an S & G into an ampersand. I'll be honest, though. Getting there was anything but easy. There are about 100 ways you can eat this elephant, & each one pushed me further from the solution. I ended up almost scrapping the idea altogether. The artboards were a mess, but one version finally clicked.

Tough, Smart lawyers.

The ampersand is the anchor, the idea, and the source of truth for anything I built. It runs through the patterns, the icons, the messaging. The verbal identity follows the same pattern. knowledge & determination, access & approachability, family & experience. The brand voice shifted from formal and distant to warm and direct. Confident without being aggressive. Exactly how Marcus and the Gatto family actually talk to their clients.

Powerful Icons.

Personal injury clients are not browsing. They are stressed, overwhelmed, & trying to understand a process that feels designed to confuse them. The icons needed to be clear, approachable, & warm enough to not feel clinical. Each one was designed to communicate quickly without adding to the noise. On brand, but built for a person in a hard moment.

Look, ma!

A few weeks after handoff, I was driving down highway 94 in Minneapolis & caught it out of the corner of my eye. The billboard. Full system, deployed, enormous, exactly as designed. It was a jumpscare of impressive implementation. If you live in or around Minneapolis, you may have seen them, too. I was proud, & they were prouder.