Work - Hargreaves
You can’t see a foundation. But without one, nothing stands. That was the challenge we faced repositioning the Hargreaves brand. How do you tell the world about something it doesn’t see?
- Brand strategy
- Visual Identity
- Website
- brand guidelines
- Tone of voice
- Brand video
- Social media
- Merchandise
- Industrial infrastructure
CHALLENGE
Making the unseen visible
Hargreaves is a Group of specialist businesses with decades of expertise across infrastructure, materials, energy, logistics, land, and the environment. Much of what they do happens beneath the surface, preparing the foundations for what happens above it. New communities. New landscapes. Clean energy to power homes. Connections that keep Britain moving. They do some of the most important work in Britain. But they were seen as an industrial critical services contractor.
We needed to reflect the real significance of what they do. Connect the Group with a unifying idea. And elevate Hargreaves to a societal and purposeful level.
SOLUTION
What role does Hargreaves really play in the world?
We needed to redefine what Hargreaves means and look beyond their critical services. One truth kept emerging across every part of the business. They are the expertise beneath the surface that makes everything above it possible. Transforming vast landscapes – building, shaping, restoring, unlocking potential – so progress and growth can follow. We positioned Hargreaves as the “Unseen force” behind the projects the nation depends on. A business defined not by what it delivers, but by what modern life needs to thrive.
EXPRESSION: VISUAL
The underground intelligence of mycelium network
The “Unseen force” is the foundation of the brand identity. Inspired by the underground intelligence of mycelium network – interconnected, strong, and constantly enabling growth – we created a powerful visual expression, motion behaviour, a design system and impactful brand symbol for the role Hargreaves plays in the world.
Like mycelium, Hargreaves works below the surface. Unlocking potential. Connecting infrastructure. Creating the foundation that allows industries, communities, the environment to progress and thrive. Motion gives the mycelium network a sense of life, growing, shifting, adapting, moving purposefully through the identity – mirroring how Hargreaves builds the nation’s foundational systems, revealing the hidden story behind every visible outcome.
EXPRESSION: VERBAL
From brand strategy to brand voice
We distilled our belief into four simple words: “Hargreaves has the how”. Grounded, confident, ambitious, our brand statement sets the tone and captures everything the mycelium represents: the unseen expertise. We also developed a narrative framework “From ground to growth” that shifts the conversation from what Hargreaves does to what they make possible. “From waste to power for millions of homes”. “From forgotten land to thriving communities”. “From uneven terrain to direct city connections”. We’ve given every part of the business a shared language, a single, unifying belief and a clear way of talking about complexity.
IMPACT
A perception change for Hargreaves
The result is more than a new brand. It’s a new understanding of Hargreaves. Our repositioning has elevated the perception of the brand from an industrial services company to the “Unseen force” behind Britain’s major development, connecting each of their specialist businesses through a shared purpose and giving the Group a clearer voice, both internally and externally. A compelling articulation of the capability that sets the business apart.
