The Hive

2025 • Indoor Climbing Gym • Rebrand & Level Up

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The Brief

The Hive Climbing Gym is a brand-new indoor climbing facility opening in Longview, Texas, the first of its kind in the area. The founder came to me with a name, a vision and a very clear sense of what she did not want. Most climbing gym brands lean into mountain imagery and competitive sport aesthetics but The Hive was never meant to be that. It was built around the idea that climbing is a social activity, a puzzle to solve with people around you and that the gym itself should feel like somewhere you actually want to hang out.

The brief was to build an identity from scratch that felt joyful, community-led, and genuinely welcoming to people who would never describe themselves as climbers.

What the studio did

The name pointed straight to the visual territory: warmth, collective energy, a place where people gather. I built the identity around a bold orange and cream palette with a rich blue as a supporting tone, referencing sunshine and open air without relying on outdoor clichés. The logo mark is an abstract cluster of climbing holds that reads as a honeycomb cell when grouped, tying the name to the sport in a way that feels clever rather than literal. The chunky, rounded wordmark keeps it playful without tipping into childish.

I extended the system across social templates, membership cards, merch, and interior signage, giving the brand range to flex across themed events and everyday content.

From the Founder

"Working with Emma was easy. She jumped on board immediately when I presented my vision and reciprocated my passion for the story being told. She understood the purpose behind the ideas and collaborated with empathy and patience until the result was refined into what I was looking for. She was very receptive to feedback and worked with me to support my unique needs, including timezone coordination. The process was seamless!"

Cameron Swayze