THE BREIF
Hound House is a private social club and curated space for dogs and their humans in downtown Toronto. A first-of-its-kind concept in the city, it blends dog care, co-working, and community into a premium, design-led environment.
When Lauren approached us, the concept was resonating with early members, but visually - both the brand and interiors weren’t living up to the vision. The space felt too safe. The branding felt too generic. Neither were aligned with the bold, culturally-savvy business she was building.
Toronto has high expectations, and to compete with the best cafés, clubs, and studios in the city, Hound House needed to feel like a destination. What began as a rebrand quickly evolved into a full transformation of both the brand identity and the physical space.
THE CHALLENGE
A brand and space that lacked cultural credibility
Despite offering a high-end in-person experience, the brand looked and felt generic. It lacked the design authority and distinctiveness to compete in a city like Toronto, where aesthetics and culture carry weight, especially in hospitality and lifestyle spaces.
Attracting the wrong audience and struggling to clearly communicate the offering
Without a sharp brand narrative, customers misunderstood the offer, seeing it as a doggy daycare or casual café rather than a curated member experience. As a result, the business struggled to attract its ideal clientele or convert interest into long-term loyalty.
Disconnected touch points and no unifying brand structure
From operations to marketing, the business lacked an integrated framework to bring all parts of the experience together. Without this foundation, it was hard to maintain consistency or make strategic decisions across brand, space, and customer experience.
STRATEGY
This wasn’t a full teardown, it was a considered elevation. We refined the Hound House brand to better reflect what it actually was: a premium lifestyle brand, not just a dog park.
We anchored the new strategy around exclusivity, cultural capital, and aspirational design, treating it more like Soho House for dogs than a daycare or pet business. We dug deep into the brand’s purpose, point of view, and long-term vision (global presence, city hubs, all-house memberships) and built the foundations to move toward it.
Our framework positioned Hound House as a creative, community-first destination that integrated premium pet services with beautiful design and meaningful connection. We leaned into their unique edge “Life is short. Spoil your hound.” and developed a brand system built for scale and relevance.
STRATEGY
The visual identity needed to feel effortlessly cool and culturally credible. We introduced new patterns inspired by houndstooth and interior tilework, expanded the colour palette with more refined tones, and created a versatile brand system to unify all parts of the business.
We developed custom illustrations, a new logo suite, and a robust type hierarchy that elevated the brand beyond the dog category. Assets were designed to work across merch, social, events, signage, and more, giving the team the tools to implement the brand across every touchpoint.
This was about moving from “cute” to “cult brand.” We made Hound House not just a place to go, but a brand to belong to.
THE RESULTS
A brand and space that reflect the full calibre of the concept
“The process has given us clarity and confidence in the business. We now have a stronger foundation and a clear creative direction that aligns with who we are and where we’re going.”
A noticeable shift in customer perception and community engagement
“The biggest breakthrough has been seeing how the community has reacted to the new branding and space. People are excited in a way they weren’t before — they ‘get’ it now, and it feels like we’re attracting the right crowd.”
A strategic foundation to scale with confidence
“I feel excited, focused, and in control of the business in a way I didn’t before. This gave us the structure to scale and the clarity to make big, aligned decisions. We finally feel like we’re stepping into the brand we always envisioned.”
“Working with Hannah was collaborative, supportive, and tailored. I always felt understood and guided in a way that made the process seamless and inspiring. The biggest breakthroughs were realising where the gaps were, nailing down who and what we are as a business, and creating a visual identity that accurately represents our business.”
“I came to work with Maybe Studio because I was feeling overwhelmed by all the moving parts of my business and knew I needed more clarity and structure to move forward from both a visual and operational point of view. Our vision for what we wanted to be was always strong, but I felt scattered and stuck in the day-to-day without the right frameworks and guidelines in place.Now, I feel excited, focused, and in control of my business with a stronger foundation and clearer direction.”
LAUREN | FOUNDER