Transforming a respected industry organization into a brand built for what was next.
WorldatWork had decades of authority in Total Rewards and an established community of HR, compensation, benefits, and rewards professionals. What it needed was a brand that better reflected the organization it had become—and supported where it was headed.
With the existing logo remaining in place, HDG was engaged to rethink everything around it.
Working directly with the VP of Marketing, President and CEO, department leaders, internal stakeholders, and WorldatWork’s in-house design team, we led a year-long transformation spanning brand strategy, communications, identity, digital experience, membership, marketing, education, and implementation.
Building the brand from the inside out
The work began by redefining how WorldatWork communicated within the evolving HR and Total Rewards profession.
HDG led the development of a new mission and vision, brand strategy, messaging, tone of voice, and communication framework—creating a clearer foundation for how the organization represented its expertise, value, and leadership to its membership community.
Creating a visual system with range
HDG built a complete visual language around the existing WorldatWork logo, including an expanded color system, typography, photography direction, graphic architecture, iconography, digital treatments, content hierarchy, and supporting identity elements.
One of the defining developments was the creation of the boxed W monogram.
Designed as a bold, compact extension of the primary identity, the W gave WorldatWork an ownable symbol that could live independently across digital communications, apparel, social media, events, environmental graphics, and other high-visibility applications.
It became a signature element of the new identity, was embraced throughout the organization, and remains in active use today.
HDG also developed the broader hierarchy of supporting logo lockups and identity architecture, giving WorldatWork greater flexibility while maintaining a consistent and recognizable brand.
A system designed to work across the organization
The new brand had to do far more than look different.
WorldatWork communicates across membership, certification, professional education, corporate training, research, marketing, sales, publications, digital content, events, and industry thought leadership. Each area had different requirements, yet all needed to feel unmistakably part of one organization.
HDG created a flexible system that allowed those communications to adapt without becoming disconnected. Color, typography, photography, messaging treatments, framing devices, and graphic elements could shift according to the subject or program while maintaining a consistent WorldatWork point of view.
We also helped reshape how membership offerings were communicated, including the development and naming of a tiered membership structure that made different levels of access, benefits, participation, and involvement easier to understand.
Turning the system into a working brand
To make the transformation sustainable, HDG created an extensive 130-page brand guide covering strategy, messaging, tone, imagery, typography, color, graphic systems, digital applications, video, identity usage, and implementation standards.
Just as important, HDG led brand training across the organization before launch, including an all-staff presentation and dedicated sessions for individual departments. These sessions helped teams understand not only how the new brand looked, but how it should be communicated and applied within their specific areas of responsibility.
HDG also worked directly with WorldatWork’s in-house creative team throughout the process—helping implement the new system and giving the organization the tools to carry it forward after the engagement.
From brand transformation to brand experience
The year-long transformation culminated in the successful launch of the new WorldatWork brand at its 2022 annual conference.
The conference was not a separate creative exercise. It was the first large-scale physical expression of the system developed throughout the year.
Strategy became messaging.
Identity became environment.
Graphic language became signage and staging.
Digital expression became live experience.
Drawing on HDG’s conference and experiential design expertise, the new identity extended throughout the event environment—giving WorldatWork’s membership community the opportunity to experience the transformed brand at scale.
It demonstrated that the system could move from websites and publications to marketing communications and major live experiences without losing its character or consistency.
From brand transformation to brand experience
The WorldatWork transformation established a strategic, verbal, and visual system capable of supporting a large organization and the many ways it communicates with the HR and Total Rewards profession.
The project established:
• A new brand strategy and communication foundation
• New mission, vision, messaging, and tone of voice
• A complete visual identity system built around the existing WorldatWork logo
• The boxed W monogram—a signature brand asset still in use today
• A complete hierarchy of supporting identity lockups
• New typography, color, photography, iconography, and graphic systems
• A flexible architecture for membership, education, marketing, sales, digital, publications, and events
• Art direction for the redesigned WorldatWork website
• A newly structured and named tiered membership system
• A comprehensive 130-page brand standards guide
• Organization-wide brand training and implementation support across departments and the internal creative team
• A successful public launch at the 2022 annual conference
The result was more than a new look. HDG gave WorldatWork a clearer way to express who it was, a flexible system capable of supporting a complex organization, and the tools to maintain that brand consistently well beyond the initial transformation.
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