The Journey
NewGround starts our strategy with our clients through a Discovery Session. This Discovery Session, usually carried out in person, aims to fully develop a client’s brand identity and how they want their brand to translate into their space. This includes new ideas for design, functionality, and how their consumers and/or employees will interact with the physical space. However, with the onset of COVID and the following health and safety restrictions, meeting in person became impossible. So NewGround set out into uncharted territory and conducted our first all-virtual Discovery Session.
“My favorite thing about the process would be NewGround’s Discovery process, specifically because of how NewGround handled it,” says 1st Choice Savings CEO, Jason Sentes. “I was never asked formal questions about budgets or square footage. We walked through the process to understand what we were trying to accomplish with the space. We used these blueprints and designs throughout our process.”
The online innovations didn’t stop there. All designing was done digitally and virtually as well, staying in constant communication with 1st Choice Savings to ensure that every step was met to their liking. Furthermore, we even used Google Streets and other online software to properly scout and survey sites virtually. While the digital world was different, NewGround accepted and thrived amid the challenges of COVID and being unable to meet in person. Overall, 1st Choice Savings was still extremely happy with the quality of work and the amount of communication.
Taber, Alberta is a small, farming town, but 1st Choice Savings takes great pride in the local community and all the farmers do for the region. In order to pay homage to this vibrant and important area, 1st Choice Savings wanted to ensure that they incorporated farming elements into their design. Taber’s farming techniques are very unique; they use farming methods that result in large circles on their fields, visible even from satellites or from above. This unique visual element was incorporated into the design of the space. However, since this element is unique to this location, it will only be implemented in the Taber, Alberta facility. While the overall brand themes carry throughout multiple locations, 1st Choice Savings wanted each location to feel special and personal to the community.
Furthermore, 1st Choice Savings wanted a location that would stand out from the outside as well. The cathedral-like ceiling and high, two-story interior give off a very agrarian feel, and the curved roof makes the building feel like a sophisticated silo to match the farming community. The location currently stands as a signature building in town.
