WATSON’S

BRAND IDENTITY | EGD | RETAIL EXPERIENCE | DIGITAL | SIGNAGE & WAYFINDING
Brand identity and integrated retail design package for Watson’s rebrand and showroom expansion.

A family-owned business, Watson’s has been a fixture in Cincinnati for over half a century. From humble beginnings, their focus on selection, service, and savings has transformed them into one of the world’s largest specialty retailers of home goods. Watson’s mission is to help its customers experience life’s best moments in the comfort of their homes. From backyard hot tubs that enhance health and wellness to basement rec rooms for hosting hours of family fun, Watson’s provides a vast selection of products to improve the quality and enjoyment of life.

We set out to capture the essence of  Watson’s tagline, “Life’s best moments start here,” with brand and experiential graphics that are fun and light-hearted.

For the logo, we worked with Gorilla Group in Chicago to design a simple, iconic evolution of the original logo. The new brand stays true to its original playfulness while elevating the brand to be more expansive. We retained the iconic Watson’s red and expanded the palette to enable the brand to reach different audiences. The mark is based on a hexagon, representing the many facets and lifestyles Watson’s serves.

The hexagonal language and large, carefree imagery are the cornerstones of the experiential design package. A large-scale, custom, split-flap feature immediately greets shoppers on entry. This welcome feature sets the tone for everything Watson’s sells, representing meaningful connections with friends, family, nature, and yourself!

We collaborated with SHP Architecture to design the interior design package. The package included new exterior signs, interior design and finishings, educational displays, electronic banners, category signs, and wayfinding. Then, we detailed instructions on how to take this new system to other stores in the Watson’s family. A composition of large, hexagonal video screens and lit department name signs anchor each department and provide wayfinding. The videos depict the emotional essence of each category, acting as a constant reminder to customers of how this product will enhance their homes and lives. With limited space, it was important for our system to be flexible and efficient. We designed mobile displays that worked double-duty as product shelving and graphic features. Inspired by the hexagon patterns of the new brand, we created a custom iconography suite for Watson’s. The suite of characters allows us to explore the fun side of the brand, being used in static compositions as well as animated content. Digital banners sprinkled throughout the space use the animations to provide dynamic, targeted messaging and sales information. Twenty-two monitors deliver 116 messages according to location, date, and promotion. This system revolutionizes the retail environment and is both cost-effective and functional.

A brand within a brand, the Pool Accessory Store needed to stand out from the main showroom while still feeling part of the Watson’s family. Instead of utilizing the dark neutrals of the showroom, we went with stark white. The design embraced Watson’s original tagline, “we have all the fun”, with increased use of our illustrated scenes and characters.

The new brand experience better reflects Watson’s growth and mission. It has elevated the brand, allowing Watson’s to reach a wider audience and give them an easy, repeatable system that will grow with them.

Portfolio view

CLIENT
WATSON'S
SERVICES ON PROJECT

Brand Identity
Experiential Graphic Design
Retail Experience
Digital Design
Signage & Wayfinding
Brand Messaging

LOCATION
Sharonville, Ohio
COLLABORATORS
Wayfinding directory and large, split-flap feature greet visitors at entry of Watson's. In background, home good displays are arranged.
A hexagon-shaped screen plays a video of spa jets above a showroom of spas. Hexagons of a spa icon, wood texture, and red lightbox reading "SPAS" hang around the screen. At right, a large graphic of a couple in a spa acts as a backdrop to spas.
Left, digital banner acts as hanging vertical display over showroom. Display has purple ad content. Right, a dark grey wall displays shelves of grilling accessories. White hexagons and text sit above shelves.
Hexagonal wayfinding hangs from the ceiling above the showroom floor at Watson's. Mix of images, video, iconography, and type make up the hexagon layouts.
4-screen video wall sits in background of the spa department. In foreground, an out of focus spa sits at bottom of image.
Left, a mobile, double-sided display features billiard packages. Pool cues sit on wall with information above. Right, custom stool displays runs down right hand wall. Hexagon wayfinding hangs from ceiling calling attention to restrooms.
Hexagonal wayfinding hangs from ceiling identifying "service dept". To right, a blue tile wall marks cafe and bar.
At left, a tombstone style graphic displays information about the Markdown Marketplace. In the background, corrugated metal siding and red awnings mark the entrance to the Markdown Marketplace.
Shelving lines the white walls of the Pool Accessory Store. Above the shelving, custom illustrations and red hexagons decorate the area. Free-standing shelves stand in foreground holding pool chemicals and products.
Left, text reads "Life is more relaxing by the pool" on a grey wall in dimensional letters. Wooden pedestals display pool pumps below text. Right, detail of ipad kiosk with red screen and white text shares pool information.
Red wall with white dimensional hexagons share Watson's specific facts. White line art illustrations decorate the wall below hexagons. In foreground sits a filled pool with pool accessory store beyond.
Left, white walls, graphic panels and tile slat walls display pool package information. Right, a grey wall details pool education in white text next to ipad kiosks.
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CLIENT
WATSON'S
SERVICES ON PROJECT

Brand Identity
Experiential Graphic Design
Retail Experience
Digital Design
Signage & Wayfinding
Brand Messaging

LOCATION
Sharonville, Ohio
COLLABORATORS
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EGD | DIGITAL | DESIGN STRATEGY
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When JP Flooring partnered with us over 20 years ago, the first thing we did for them was design a brand identity for them. The now familiar logo has served them well over the years, but it was time to breathe some fresh life into their brand identity. The challenge was twofold. We wanted to give their brand and showroom a new look while maintaining the equity and trust of the original mark, and we needed to make efficient use of limited flooring space.
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