Legal work runs on trust, precision, and institutional credibility. Design conversations don’t always get invited to that table early. So when Dinsmore came to ArtVersion looking to overhaul both its brand identity and digital presence, the scope of what that actually meant took a moment to land. This wasn’t a logo update or a site refresh. It was a ground-up rethinking of how one of the country’s largest full-service law firms presents itself across every surface it occupies.
Dinsmore operates with over 750 lawyers and staff spread across offices nationwide. At that scale, the brand isn’t a single thing. It’s a homepage and a pitch deck and a newly promoted partner’s bio page, all running at the same time, in different cities, produced in collaboration with different people. Holding that together visually requires something more durable than a style guide. You need a system with actual structure.
ArtVersion led the full creative direction, from brand strategy and visual identity through UI/UX design and web development. John Bart, Dinsmore’s Senior Manager of Branding and Creative Services, was a working partner throughout, not just a reviewer. His understanding of how the firm operates day to day shaped decisions that a purely outside perspective would have missed. That kind of embedded collaboration changes what gets built.
Scope and Approach
The goal wasn’t reinvention. It was alignment.
Over time, inconsistencies had emerged in color usage, typography, and the relationship between logo and broader identity. The website had also become layered and harder to navigate. The project focused on consolidating these elements into a system that could scale with the firm.
Visual System
Color was rebuilt from the existing palette. The core blue was retained, with additional purple tones, neutrals, and accents introduced to expand range while maintaining continuity. Emphasis was placed on consistency across print and digital applications.
Typography centered on a sans-serif with classical proportions, selected for readability across sizes and formats. Hierarchy is driven by weight and structure rather than scale alone.
A geometric “diamond” motif, derived from the logo, became the primary unifying element. It’s used flexibly—foreground, background, and pattern—to connect applications without adding new visual elements.
Logo
Multiple directions were tested in context before selecting a three-diamond mark paired with a new wordmark. The final form aligns with the broader system rather than operating as a standalone element. The same geometry appears across brand assets, reinforcing consistency.
Digital and Beyond
The website integrates the visual system with updated information architecture. Navigation and content structures were simplified to improve access to practice areas, attorney profiles, and publications.
Implementation
A detailed digital style guide defines color, typography, layout, and imagery standards for ongoing use. The intent is to reduce reliance on interpretation and maintain consistency across internal and external teams.
An internal launch animation introduced the updated identity, helping communicate the changes across the organization.
Outcome
The result, say Artversion officials, is a unified design system: consistent color behavior across media, a flexible typographic hierarchy, a repeatable visual motif, and clear documentation for long-term use.
