Astrolabe Search

The Brief

Matt D’Cruz and Rupert Wallis brought something valuable to the table: real pedigree, built over decades of senior placements across the UK, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. The task was to make all of that visible on day one of a brand new firm.

Executive search is a business of judgement, and judgement is a hard thing to put on a page. The people Astrolabe approaches are chairs, chief executives and private equity backers who form an impression quickly, so the brand and the site needed to earn confidence straight away. The founders had their positioning clear in their minds already: meticulous research, deep market insight and a future-focused view of what a leader needs to be. The brief was to give all of that a shape people could see. They also needed the everyday material a search firm sells with, and a way to be found by the people looking for exactly what they do.

Our Actions

The name was a gift to work with. An astrolabe is an instrument for navigating by the stars, and the identity leaned into that sense of precision and direction with a light touch. The brand needed to feel at ease in a boardroom while carrying a more modern spirit than the sector is used to, and that balance guided every decision.

Chris Cranshaw and Gavin Cranshaw shared the project between them. The site gives each of the seven sectors a page of its own, so Astrolabe can talk directly to a media business or a fintech in the language they use every day. The methodology gets proper space, because in search the process really is the product, and the team, the FAQs and an insights section for market commentary all found their place too.

Halt also created the social assets and collateral the founders needed from day one, so the brand felt complete everywhere it appeared.