A new Midtown building with no name gets one, and a brand to match

Altana on McLean was a new mixed-use building across from Snowden School, and it needed a name and an identity before it could introduce itself to anyone. We named it, designed the brand and carried it onto construction and exterior signs.

Client: Altana on McLean
Industry: Real Estate
Services: Naming, logo design, visual identity, signage design, brand guidelines

A name of its own"Altana" suggests height and quality, and "on McLean" ties it to the address.

Brand guide + signageComing-soon construction signs and exterior sign designs in the new identity.

The problem

Altana on McLean was planned as apartments over ground-floor retail or office space, across from Snowden School in Midtown. Developer Eduardo Sanchez Borja led the project, and Austin Magruder at PKM Architects designed the building. What it didn’t have yet was a name, or any consistent way to present itself to future tenants and the neighborhood, starting with the signs on the construction site.

What we did

We started with the name. “Altana” was chosen to suggest height, sophistication and quality, and “On McLean” pins it to the address. The logo combines mountain imagery with the letters A and M in a geometric form, and a bold, modern palette and flexible type back it up.

We laid the name out in a naming presentation, then put the identity into a brand guide and applied it to coming-soon construction signage and exterior sign designs.

What changed

The building has a name tied to its street, a brand guide that keeps everything consistent and sign designs for both the construction phase and the finished exterior.

The work