Sanders Morris Harris Inc. is the largest investment banking firm based in Texas. SMH wanted to create a subsidiary focused on funding early-stage energy technology start-ups in Houston, considered the energy capital of the world.

SMH approached Clarity05 to create a web site for their new entity, SMH Private Equity Group. The job quickly grew into a branding assignment.

Recognizing the equity of the SMH name, we suggested ways to update the SMH logo. After analyzing the brand requirements, we proposed a ‘partner-centric’ concept for the web site. This allowed the web site to fulfill its primary mission of catering to high wealth limited partners, while communicating a sense of focus and seriousness to secondary audiences, such as prospective investors and early-stage companies seeking funding.

Charles Davis of SMH: “As an investment company, presentation is a big part of our business. Clarity05 showed us the weakness of our competitors and our own strengths, and where we had opportunities. They provided good analysis of where we were, and provided a map to get where we need to be – which is different and distinct from any other firm in our space. The web site became a strong sales tool, even though that wasn’t the original intent.”