Entry

Houston White Brands

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Concept/Purpose of the Work:
In 2007, barber and designer Houston White founded a barbershop in North Minneapolis called Houston White Men’s Room. Over the years, the shop also became part fashion house and part gathering space. When we started collaborating in 2019, Houston had a grand vision for growth, but lacked the strategic platform needed to scale beyond the shop. During our brand exploration, we uncovered a powerful insight: Style is more than how you look — style is your voice. And the voices of so many people, especially communities of color, must be raised. This fueled an important strategic shift. Houston is not in the business of barbering or fashion design. He is in the business of uplifting new and different voices to build a more intercultural world. To embody this conviction, we designed a new brand in his namesake: Houston White as well as three additional brand lines, Viictory, Fresh and New Classics.

Results of the Work:

With a powerful brand purpose and design foundation, doors started opening for Houston like never before. During a year of economic and racial strife with 41 percent of Black-owned businesses closing (University of California at Santa Cruz Study 2020), Houston White doubled its revenue, expanding apparel into iconic retailers and transforming the barbershop building into a new community mecca. Beyond business success, Houston himself has become a preeminent voice for cultural progress. And we’ve only just begun.

We carried forward the momentum of our fresh branding into negotiations with retailers including Target, JCPenney, and specialty retailer MartinPatrick3. Selling an unknown brand into marquee retailers is a wild challenge. But we had transformed Houston White from a barbershop owner who designs apparel into a brand with an authentic founder story and a mission to foster intercultural exploration through style. And retail buyers sparked to the cultural power of the new brand.

These retail relationships came as a direct result of the brand foundation we built and more than doubled revenue for Houston’s business over the previous year.

How the Work Was Delivered to the Masses:
Beyond business success, Houston himself has become a preeminent voice for progress in Minneapolis & across the country. He has been featured in publications and cultural news outlets including Forbes, Inc. magazine, MPR News, Mpls St. Paul magazine, Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and more.


Credits:
"Casie Cook, Brand Strategy Director, 10 Thousand Design
Sam Soulek, Group Design Director, 10 Thousand Design
Dustin Hackwith, Design Director, 10 Thousand Design
Sabrina Peitz, Designer, 10 Thousand Design
Cornel Beard, Designer, 10 Thousand Design
Patrick Anders, Experience Design Director, Colle McVoy
Hojo Willenzik, Associate Creative Director, 10 Thousand Design
Kristin Woxland, Managing Director, 10 Thousand Design
John Doyle, Executive Vice President, Experience Design, Colle McVoy
Ed Bennett, Executive Vice President, Design, 10 Thousand Design
Mike Caguin, Chief Creative Officer, Colle McVoy
Anna Barrick, Project Manager, Colle McVoy
Jamie Wheeler, Senior Studio Artist, Colle McVoy
Brad Smith, Print Producer, Colle McVoy
Denise Remick, Presentation Artist, Colle McVoy
Houston White, Founder, Houston White"

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