The challenge
Nordly Studio has operated in Cluj for 12 years — a residential and hospitality architecture studio with a solid portfolio but a clear problem: the visual identity no longer matched the team's ambition. They worked with international clients (Norway, Finland, the Netherlands), but their presentation materials looked like 2014.
The brief: a complete repositioning, without breaking the link to the existing portfolio. A brand visible in the Nordic market, with a system that works on both a billboard and a PDF pitch sent from a plane.
What we did
1. Discovery & positioning
Two workshops with the founding team (8 hours total) + interviews with 6 recurring clients. We left with a clear positioning brief: "A North-European studio based in Transylvania" — premium, sober, confident, without ostentation.
2. Visual identity
Built on three core principles: clarity, materiality, space.
- Custom logotype inspired by classical architectural proportions
- Restrained palette: ink, cream, accent purple-stone
- Dual typographic system: editorial serif for long-form, geometric sans for UI
- Photo library with their own work, retouched into a unified look
3. Brand book + launch kit
84-page brand book (PDF + Figma), pitch templates, social media kit, email signature, letterhead, letterpress business cards.
4. New site
Complete redesign on Next.js: editorial layout, image-driven, portfolio focus. Lighthouse 98/100, loading under 1.2s on 4G.
Results
- 3.2× B2B leads in the first 6 months post-relaunch
- 1.8× conversion rate site → discovery request
- Featured in 2 international architecture publications (Dezeen, Architonic) in the first quarter
- Their own team now receives CVs more often from senior candidates in Berlin and Copenhagen
What we learned
Repositionings work best when they keep what was valuable (in this case, project quality and team seriousness) and only change the wrapper through which the world perceives them. Nordly didn't become a different studio — they became the studio they already were, only now it's visible from a distance.