Rebuilding Brands: Ritter Maher Architects

We can guarantee you’ve read about them, even though you might not recall the exact name. This week we’re highlighting Ritter Maher Architects, the group that has led a transformation of Mid City Baton Rouge, not just in support, but in action. You may know them as the “Model Block Guys.” They led the charge with redeveloping a block on Government Street near Baton Rouge High Magnet School and relocated their office there as well.

The Baton Rouge Business Report covered their story last Fall. “This portion of the corridor has the foundational elements necessary to re-emerge as a suitable destination for commerce as it connects sizable residential and commercial areas from Mid City to downtown. The Garden District, Capital Heights, Steele Place, Bernard Terrace and Ogden Park represent a broad spectrum of age, race, occupation and income levels.”

So who are they? Yes, they're pushing Baton Rouge forward, but they’re also a great group of people. Established in 2002 by Scott Ritter and Steve Maher, Ritter Maher Architects is an energetic design firm that has grown to become one of the top 10 largest firms in the Greater Baton Rouge area. With a majority of their focus in healthcare and industrial design, they have designed over two million square feet from Texas to South Carolina.

Where does X come in? We helped the firm with some early collateral pieces and some holiday cards. We really enjoyed working with them and they felt the same. Earlier this year with their new building months away from being completed, they realized it was time to take their branding to the next level.

We started with a slight tweak of their logo. The double square icon is iconic for them, so we didn’t want to alter that in any way. Instead, we just gave the typeface an update. We know what you’re thinking, “Big Deal?” Well, we wanted to make sure it felt right as we moved on to other elements.

With the logo updated, we moved on to that first “branding impression” that is made when introducing yourself, their business card. This is a creative group; we felt that the standard rectangular business card didn’t fit their company. Instead, we went with a small square shape with a die cut. Additionally, we wanted to highlight their projects. So every employee has four different images on the back of their business cards. It allows the team to show off the vast portfolio of the firm.

Lastly, and most recently, we’ve taken those brand elements: modern typefaces, large blocks of orange, and black and white photography and applied them to their new website: RitterMaher.com. As you scroll through different projects and team members, you’ll see the black and white imagery transition to full color as you hover over the images with your mouse. You’ll see a very simple design that scales down beautifully to a tablet or phone. What you don’t see is that the Ritter Maher team members can log in to the website and change any aspect of the site on the fly. Lastly, it’s built on a technology called Meteor, making it very fast, completely custom and unlike any other site out there.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of Ritter Maher, we can guarantee it won’t be the last. We’ve had a great time doing great work for a great client. We’re also a little biased since the company was founded by two Catholic High grads.

Join us as we celebrate Ritter Maher, and the great things they are doing in Baton Rouge and throughout the South.