The Fair-Haired Dumbbell:
Keeping Portland weird, one building at a time
Industry: Urban Development, Real Estate, Hospitality
Service: Brand Identity, Messaging, Environments
Just by 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 Guerrilla Development to bring the Dumbbell’s brand voice to life.
In Portland, Guerrilla Development is known for pushing boundaries. You won't find any chain businesses in their buildings, just as you won't find bland architecture.
The Dumbbell was new in town and needed an introduction. The creative brief from the Guerrilla team was “Make it weird!” and, “Don’t worry about offending people!” They wanted to attract creative tenants that valued keeping Portland weird and had a sense of humor.
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.
Working in conjunction with the talented (and hilarious) copywriter Amy Boyd, we developed a brand voice and personality to express the Dumbbell’s value beyond just her 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.
