Creating a Brand Strategy By Applying Pressure

The best questions clear away the unnecessary, leaving behind what matters.

There's a moment in every process when the answer isn't obvious, when the familiar symbols stop working. For Mackey Strategies, that moment came in the form of a pencil.

A pencil is simple. Reliable. It has been used to draft manifestos, compose symphonies and sketch impossible dreams. But the power of the pencil isn't in its shape or the way it feels in the hand. The power of the pencil is what's inside it. Graphite.

Graphite is the element that transforms pressure into communication. It's what leaves the mark. It's the foundation, the conductor, the core. Mackey Strategies' work is about transformation and clarity, about shaping movements and refining ideas under pressure.

The transformation was about revealing what was at the core.

A Mark with Weight

We started with examining their existing identity: a pencil, a nod to writing, thinking, crafting. But the pencil was the surface-level answer. The real idea lay inside it. Graphite carried weight. It had force, texture, adaptability. It held the tension between structure and movement.

The M in their logo became that idea distilled: sharp, deliberate, precise. The visual system evolved from there - deep layers, subtle shifts, the movement of something being shaped in real time. Because strategy isn't static. It sharpens. It carves. It leaves a record.

A Website That Thinks Like Mackey Strategies Thinks

Most websites present. This one moves.

Mackey Strategies doesn't work in a straight line. They work in synthesis - melding disciplines, reframing problems, creating clarity where there was once noise, all while looking toward the future. Their website needed to feel the same way.

We kept the warmth of their original brand but pushed it forward. Graphite-inspired motion, a sense of work-in-progress, a digital space that felt alive.

A System That Evolves With Its Users

The best strategies create frameworks for transformation.

Mackey Strategies is about the thinking behind the discipline - the kind of thinking that rewires organizations, reshapes leaders and reframes challenges in ways that create real change.

We didn't give them a brand that defined them. We gave them a brand that could move with them. Something elemental. Something essential.

The pencil was the starting point. But graphite was the truth. And that truth became the foundation for everything that followed.

Beyond a Redesign: Reimagining Possibility

In our work together, we didn't simply ask "What does your brand look like now?" We asked "What could your impact become?"

This question opened up possibilities that a traditional rebrand might have missed. The graphite metaphor emerged not from looking at what was, but from envisioning what could be. By asking the Mackey Strategies team to explain now what they did, but how they did it, we new that "getting to the core" was central to defining this new brand for them.

This is how we approach every partnership: an opportunity to rethink what's possible. For Mackey, this meant creating a brand system that doesn't just communicate their value—it amplifies their capacity to shape movements and catalyze transformation for their clients.

The result is a strategic foundation that Mackey Strategies can build upon as they continue to evolve. A dynamic conceptual framework that gives them the freedom to explore new territories while remaining unmistakably themselves. Because the most powerful brands don't just respond to the present—they actively shape the future.

"Collaborating with Tracey on our brand and website redesign was a true delight. Having known each other for years, finally partnering on a project so perfectly aligned with her expertise was both exciting and deeply rewarding.

She brought not only a keen creative eye but also a high-level strategic vision that shaped how we present and talk about our work in ways that felt sharper and true to who we are. I have always admired Tracey’s insight and innovative approach, and they were on full display every step of this meaningful project with her.”
-Pete Mackey, Ph.D, President & Founder, Mackey Strategies

Visit the live site and experience the new brand for yourself at http://www.mackeystrategies.com.

This project was a creative collaboration including the teams at adeo, DEEO and Mackey Strategies.