Hersick + Webster Creative Partners

Hersick + Webster Creative Partners is a branding and placemaking firm based in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Its partners, James Hersick and Laurel Webster, help state and local agencies, economic and tourism development authorities, planners, developers, architects and community lenders build brands for places and the organizations behind them.

The studio's three-phase process is investigate, ideate and implement. It begins by learning what makes a community distinct, then designs a brand character with messages and images that resonate, and finally puts tools in place for lasting impact. Team members stay hands-on as clients' direct contacts, and the firm says it believes a logo is not the same thing as a brand.

• Branding strategy: brand messaging, identity, naming, brand compass guidebooks and brand audits
• Engagement strategy: stakeholder outreach, workshop facilitation and journey mapping
• Design: logos, graphic design, websites, email and social media campaigns
• Wayfinding and exhibits: interpretive design, signage and exhibit work
• Content: copywriting, editing, photography and illustration

Featured case studies include Alabama Gulf State Park brand and interpretive strategy, destination development and branding for Alabama's I-22 Region, branding for the Martinsburg-Berkeley County CVB, the Alabama 2021 SCORP outdoor recreation engagement, the Celebrating Healthy West Virginia strategy for the state health department, and brand strategy for Partner Community Capital. The client list also names Marriott International, Choice Hotels, the University of Maryland Medical System, Valley Health, the National School Boards Association and the Virginia State Arboretum at Blandy Experimental Farm.

The firm reports more than 25 years of experience and says it has worked on five continents. Recognition listed on its site includes Graphic Design USA's Responsible Designer to Watch (2017), a 2018 Healthcare Advertising Awards Gold, 11 GDUSA Health + Wellness Design Awards, 25 American Graphic Design Awards, 3 American Corporate Identity Awards, and 2023 Clutch rankings as a top branding and web design company in West Virginia.