The Evolution of the PSW Brand

Oct 13

A Brief History

When moving forward, it is important to look at the past. Not to dwell on it, but to build off the successes and learn from any missteps. As a family-owned business, founded in 1982, there is a lot of history to review.

PSW was originally founded by Bob Blunkosky as a landscape design and installation company under the name “Garden Graphics Landscaping”. That name lasted until 2012 when, under the leadership of Bob’s son, Jeff Blunkosky, the company was renamed Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes, LLC to reflect the company’s inclusion of hardscape design and 3D design services.

In the following 20 years, Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes, through detailed systems and processes, became a leader in the hardscape industry, winning several awards for service, design, and construction. In 2019, due to market demand, Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes added a pool division to its portfolio.

Gaining a Reputation

Since the inception of the pool division, Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes has become known as one of the top pool builders in Pittsburgh. A reputation that had led the general public to begin to see us as a “Pool Company.”

However, a past client said it best; “Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes is not a pool company. With your systems and processes, you can create anything.”

That client was right! Because of our client fulfillment process, the PSW EDGE, we are able to take the visions of our clients and lead them through a journey that is honest, transparent, and efficient.

The Evolution of a Brand

In 2021, our marketing team went to work on a full rebrand of the company. Utilizing the expertise of one of the top branding experts in Pittsburgh, Top Hat, we went to work to establish what Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes was, and what we wanted to become.

From the very beginning, it was clear that Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes no longer appropriately described the full range of services we provided. In fact, there was a danger of the name limiting the full scope of the company in the eyes of potential clients.

On the other hand, we have built a positive reputation around the current name and did not want to jeopardize all the challenging work that went into building that brand.

For that reason, it was decided to evolve the name into PSW. The name PSW reinforces the common shorthand naming convention already in place and maintains the full equity of the current name.

The letters in the PSW wordmark, from a visual standpoint, are simple enough to feel contemporary, elegant enough to feel premium, and tactile enough to convey hard work.

When you add in the modifier, “Transformative Living Spaces”, it ensures that there is no confusion that PSW is about transforming all living spaces, rather than the current perception of a singular focus on pools or outdoor living.

After reviewing the current logo, which has stood the test of time for almost 20 years, it was decided that an update was also needed. Like the name, the 3 stones in the logo were based on a commitment to hardscape services and no longer fully represented the services that PSW is able to offer today.

The team set a goal for the new logo to both honor the past and still provide the imagery of transformation and moving forward. With that in mind, the team at Top Hat took nine paver blocks, representing the history of Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes, rotated them, and added movement to represent forward motion.

Updated Color Scheme

The psychology of color is very powerful. The brand of Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes was built around the three primary colors: red, green, and blue.

Green is the color of nature. Green represented the landscape aspect of the company. Green is often described as joyful, energized, and filled with life.

Blue is the color of water. Blue represented waterscapes and also pools. Blue is often described as calming, friendly, and trustworthy.

Red is the color of energy. Red represented the commitment to hardscape services. Red is often described as passionate, energy, and confidence.

All of the colors were very bright and bold and would evoke a high level of energy. Utilizing multiple colors in a logo is very difficult for many reasons. One of which is that, in any marketing materials, at least one of the colors would typically clash with images being used. Also, because of the psychology of the colors, utilizing multiple colors often caused conflicting emotions to the viewer.

Like the logo, when choosing a new color scheme for PSW, we wanted to honor the past, while creating a feeling of security, trust, and exceptional service.

The colors that were selected for PSW are Sandstone, Burnt Umber, Cool Slate, and Rain.

Sandstone and burnt umber are warmer colors with hints of brown and red. The brown in burnt umber evokes a feeling of security and comfort while the subtle red tone portrays passion.

Cool Slate and Rain are both cool colors in the blue family. Blue is a cool color and, as stated before, is calming, friendly, and trustworthy. By utilizing a softer shade of blue rather than the bright blue from before, it is even to look at.

Building Better Lives

The brand of a company is so much more than the visual components and colors. As Elaine Fogel said, “your brand is a combination of your customer’s experiences with your business at every touchpoint: each memory, thought, impression, web visit, story, sales letter, social post, event, phone call, and transaction.”

PSW is committed to creating transformative living spaces that enable our clients to live their ideal balanced lifestyle. Our goal is not to ask what they want to build, but instead we want to know how they want to live, how they want to feel, and what they want for their family.

Only once those answers have been established can we utilize our network of trade experts and professionals to design and produce the perfect living environment for our clients and their families.