The Fair-haired Dumbbell
Just looking at it, you know The Fair-Haired Dumbbell isn’t your average building. It’s a creative space designed for big ideas—which calls for a big brand. We worked with Kevin Cavenaugh of Guerrilla Development to bring the Dumbbell’s brand voice to life.
Combining development with progressive values, the Dumbbell was the first crowdfunded building in Oregon. Renowned visual artist James Jean designed the building’s exterior mural, and we created the logo and visual brand applied across web, campaigns, and print.
In Portland, Kevin is known for pushing boundaries. You won't find any chain businesses in his buildings, just as you won't find banality.
The Dumbbell was new in town and needed an introduction. The creative brief from Kevin was “Make it weird!’ and, “Don’t worry about offending people!” He wanted to attract creative tenants and businesses that valued keeping Portland weird and had a sense of humor.
Working in conjunction with the talented (and hilarious) copywriter and former studio-mate Amy Boyd, we developed a brand voice and personality to express the Dumbbell’s value beyond just good looks.
With taglines like “Eyes up here” and “DTL: Down to Lease”, our campaign was assertive, confident, and not afraid to take up space.
Why be gray when you can be 🌈🌈🌈?
