Letter from the Founder | CEO
Dear clients, colleagues and friends,
Manning Architects has reached the milestone of thirty-five years in professional practice, and it’s been a good thirty-five years. I am filled with gratitude for the clients, the team members, the strategic partners, the staff, and the community members that have helped us get where we are today. We’ve developed a reputation for professional, client-focused services over many project types; we’ve built our practice around making places that strengthen communities; and we’ve been recognized with awards for design, sustainability, and business practices.
So why change?
Part of our success has been the result of continually seeking to improve. We never rest on our laurels but continuously refine our processes, align our vision, examine our results, and engage in peer reviews. Through years of internal refinement, we have emerged stronger, resilient, and focused, and it’s time to share that clarity with our clients and partners.
While this introspection has been ongoing for some time at our company, it happens to coincide with the pivotal events occurring in our nation and around the world. It is a perfect time to look at where we’ve been and how to operate going forward. Our rebranding signals our commitment for the next thirty-five years.
Some things have not changed. Manning’s commitment to our clients and our passion to deliver on our clients’ goals never waivers. But our new brand identity reflects the vision and values that we’ve refined over three decades.
What the brand means - Manning
The name change to the simplified Manning reflects our holistic view of design. A project is rarely just one thing. By offering the full range of design services—architecture, interior design, planning—we can address a project of any scale and integrate that project’s context, site, exterior, and interior into a unified design that serves the purposes intended at every level. Even beyond the traditional professional services, with our diverse staff and strategic partnerships we can meet every aspect of a design project with targeted services that might include site analysis, return on investment analysis, energy modeling, wayfinding, or a myriad of other services.
And we do more than design. We manage projects, facilitate information exchange, usher projects through regulatory processes, and reach out to stakeholders and communities. In short, we build relationships and do what it takes to see projects through to their successful end. This is how we’ve become known as a trusted partner to our clients and the reason most of our clients return to Manning for subsequent work.
The new logo
The new logo, three intersecting crescents, expresses our collaborative spirit. Our talented staff joins with our clients and project partners to create truly responsive solutions. The three crescents also suggest the three spheres of architecture, interiors, and planning. Further, the resulting center shape, called a Reuleaux triangle, mirrors the center of a Venn diagram. We like to think of it as more than the sum of overlapping ideas, but a space of synergy where ideas converge and innovation is born. Manning is that space, where the voices of a diverse group of amazing people—staff, client, stakeholders—are heard and coalesced into a unique solution.
The imagery of the crescents also symbolizes our roots. The triad of crescents that adorn my family crest and the historied Crescent City, the firm’s birthplace, remind us that we build upon a foundation that is rooted in “place.” We draw from our fertile heritage and seek to understand the legacy of each project’s setting as we practice placemaking through design.
Looked at three-dimensionally, the logo becomes a singular sphere, uniting separate parts into a single whole. Our rallying cry is, “Many voices, one vision.”
We appreciate all those who have been a part of our journey thus far. Manning welcomes your inquiries and invites you to explore our newly redesigned website, www.Manning.xyz.
Sincerely,
Manning Architects has reached the milestone of thirty-five years in professional practice, and it’s been a good thirty-five years. I am filled with gratitude for the clients, the team members, the strategic partners, the staff, and the community members that have helped us get where we are today. We’ve developed a reputation for professional, client-focused services over many project types; we’ve built our practice around making places that strengthen communities; and we’ve been recognized with awards for design, sustainability, and business practices.
So why change?
Part of our success has been the result of continually seeking to improve. We never rest on our laurels but continuously refine our processes, align our vision, examine our results, and engage in peer reviews. Through years of internal refinement, we have emerged stronger, resilient, and focused, and it’s time to share that clarity with our clients and partners.
While this introspection has been ongoing for some time at our company, it happens to coincide with the pivotal events occurring in our nation and around the world. It is a perfect time to look at where we’ve been and how to operate going forward. Our rebranding signals our commitment for the next thirty-five years.
Some things have not changed. Manning’s commitment to our clients and our passion to deliver on our clients’ goals never waivers. But our new brand identity reflects the vision and values that we’ve refined over three decades.
What the brand means - Manning
The name change to the simplified Manning reflects our holistic view of design. A project is rarely just one thing. By offering the full range of design services—architecture, interior design, planning—we can address a project of any scale and integrate that project’s context, site, exterior, and interior into a unified design that serves the purposes intended at every level. Even beyond the traditional professional services, with our diverse staff and strategic partnerships we can meet every aspect of a design project with targeted services that might include site analysis, return on investment analysis, energy modeling, wayfinding, or a myriad of other services.
And we do more than design. We manage projects, facilitate information exchange, usher projects through regulatory processes, and reach out to stakeholders and communities. In short, we build relationships and do what it takes to see projects through to their successful end. This is how we’ve become known as a trusted partner to our clients and the reason most of our clients return to Manning for subsequent work.
The new logo
The new logo, three intersecting crescents, expresses our collaborative spirit. Our talented staff joins with our clients and project partners to create truly responsive solutions. The three crescents also suggest the three spheres of architecture, interiors, and planning. Further, the resulting center shape, called a Reuleaux triangle, mirrors the center of a Venn diagram. We like to think of it as more than the sum of overlapping ideas, but a space of synergy where ideas converge and innovation is born. Manning is that space, where the voices of a diverse group of amazing people—staff, client, stakeholders—are heard and coalesced into a unique solution.
The imagery of the crescents also symbolizes our roots. The triad of crescents that adorn my family crest and the historied Crescent City, the firm’s birthplace, remind us that we build upon a foundation that is rooted in “place.” We draw from our fertile heritage and seek to understand the legacy of each project’s setting as we practice placemaking through design.
Looked at three-dimensionally, the logo becomes a singular sphere, uniting separate parts into a single whole. Our rallying cry is, “Many voices, one vision.”
We appreciate all those who have been a part of our journey thus far. Manning welcomes your inquiries and invites you to explore our newly redesigned website, www.Manning.xyz.
Sincerely,
