Headwater sources good food from over 200 regional family farms and businesses and distributes throughout the state of New York. As Relays, we built them a new brand system from the ground up that will support them as they grow and expand into new product lines and services.

Headwater approached us at a critical moment: they were expanding and tapping into new audience segments, and knew it was time for a fresh look at their brand. While their previous visual identity had served them well, they wanted something more versatile and durable to underpin their position as an established purpose-driven, values-oriented leader in our regional food system.

A custom logotype was a given. After shortening the name (dropping "food hub") we wanted every letter to feel rooted in something old, but useful.

Good food works for all of us.

From there, we took the opportunity to reflect on the mission, vision, and goals of the company and unify the voice of the brand. We built a new tagline and reworked these statements to be concise and aligned with the brand personality

Because the Headwater team uses Google Workspace almost exclusively (docs, sheets, slides) it was important to utilize open source type that already exists in Google Fonts. There's no shortage of beautiful options.

The Public Facing Sub-brand

The Origins product line is a distinct design system in itself. For labels, boxes, and packaging, we built a simple, minimal design convention in which the Headwater Origins logo and the product name are given equal weight, and additional product attributes and images are housed in other elements of the pattern.

One Page Website

We also designed and developed a brand new brochure-style site that serves as a high-level introduction to Headwater’s products, services, and values. From language to typography, from image content to image treatment, this website is the culmination of their new brand.

👆 visit headwaterfood.com to see it in action.

We wrapped up the project by compiling a brand guide. This comes last, because it’s the culmination of everything we’ve built and learned along the way. It offers guidelines for strategy, messaging, copywriting, design, and photography, though it’s not meant to be overly restrictive or even prescriptive: the system is structured to function through the inevitable evolution of Headwater’s programs, services, and products, and leaves space for flexibility as new ideas blossom and grow.

That's a wrap

That totals about 9 weeks of work! The Headwater team was involved the entire time and great to work with. 👍