Building a Bold Brand for an Award-Winning Women in Construction Initiative

CLIENT

Superior Construction is a fourth-generation family-owned and -operated heavy civil contractor specializing in complex infrastructure and transportation projects. Founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1923, the company has since established a significant presence in Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Illinois.

In fall 2022, at the direction of owner and CEO Nick Largura, Superior launched Superior Women in Construction (SWiC) — an internal initiative and talent development program that empowers women and drives innovation across the company and industry. The initiative includes SWiC LEAD, a yearlong leadership development program designed with a certified executive coach that pairs rising women leaders with mentors from Superior’s executive team.

“We want to be intentional in making Superior among the best places to work while building future leaders,” Largura said at the program’s launch. “As the industry continues to evolve, we must empower women in order to advance construction. This program aims to do both.”

As Superior’s full-service agency of record since 2021, Reputation Ink was tasked with giving the growing initiative a visual identity of its own.

CHALLENGE

SWiC began as an internal pilot program with 11 participants. It quickly outgrew that container. Members were representing the program at high school and college career fairs, industry association events, community builds and media interviews — everywhere from jobsites to podcast studios. The initiative’s visual identity became a key tool for raising awareness, not only within Superior but across the entire construction industry.

The brand had to speak to an unusually wide audience: Superior employees and recruits, industry partners, interns and students exploring construction careers — and critically, women working across every corner of the company, from foremen and tradespeople to office professionals.

The creative brief demanded a specific attitude. The mark needed to capture the rugged spirit and ambitious goals of women building America’s infrastructure. It had to be strong and confident — never soft, decorative or “pink-washed.” Too many women’s initiatives in male-dominated industries get branded with a pastel palette and a lighter touch, visually signaling that they’re an accessory to the real work. SWiC members operate cranes, lead crews and pour concrete. Their brand needed to look like it belonged on a hard hat, because it would live on one.

The identity also had to sit comfortably within Superior’s established brand guidelines while standing on its own — recognizable at embroidery scale on a polo sleeve and legible on a water bottle, a decal, an annual report chapter divider and an event backdrop.

OUR SOLUTION

Inspired by the bridges and connectors Superior builds, Reputation Ink crafted a custom wordmark that uses bold typography to convey the essence and profile of a bridge in a modern, abstract way.

The lowercase letterforms of “swic” flow as a single connected structure — a typographic nod to the spans and connections at the heart of Superior’s work. The “w” rises to a peak crowned by a gray apex over the “i,” completing the abstract bridge silhouette and giving the mark a subtle upward gesture that mirrors the program’s mission: building a self-sustaining pipeline of elite leaders who advance the industry.

Every design decision reinforced the brief’s tone:

• Strength with style. The letterforms pair heavy, grounded strokes with sweeping curves — femininity expressed as elegance and power rather than decoration. 
• A full-strength brand, not a “women’s version.” Women’s initiatives too often receive a softened, diluted take on the parent identity — visually signaling an afterthought. SWiC’s mark claims Superior’s signature red outright and carries the same visual weight as the brand it belongs to.
• Spirit over equipment. Rather than reaching for the roads, hard hats and earth movers that crowd infrastructure branding, the mark abstracts the work into pure typographic form — representing what the program builds in people, not just what the company builds in steel.
• A system built for the field. The logo was engineered to perform in one-color and reversed applications — white on red, white on black, full color on light grounds — so it holds up on embroidered apparel, molded hard hat decals, promotional items and print.
• A companion lockup. A letterspaced “Superior Women in Construction” descriptor pairs with the mark for first-touch audiences and drops away where the mark stands alone.

The result is an identity that reflects leadership, empowerment and the advancement of women in a traditionally male-dominated industry — and looks at home next to a Superior logo on the side of a hard hat.

THE RESULTS

The SWiC mark now travels everywhere the program does. It appears on hard hats, polos, water bottles and event materials worn and carried by members at jobsites, career fairs, industry conferences and community events. It anchors a dedicated chapter of Superior’s annual report and brands the program’s media appearances, sponsorships and networking series.

The identity arrived as the program hit its stride, giving SWiC a rallying flag through a period of significant growth and recognition:

• Superior received the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) inaugural 2024 Glass Hammer Award, which recognizes companies in the transportation construction industry with innovative programs promoting women leaders. Members of the SWiC steering committee accepted the award at ARTBA’s national convention in Amelia Island, Florida.
• The initiative earned coverage across industry media, including Asphalt Pro, Construction Equipment Guide, Midwest Contractor and the Women Talk Construction podcast.
• Ten SWiC LEAD members have earned promotions since the program launched in 2022, and members have won individual honors including back-to-back PACER Awards in the Women in Construction category (Liz Howard, 2024; Amy Henningfield, 2025).
• Participation in the SWiC LEAD class nearly doubled to 11 women for 2025-2026, with expanded representation from field operations — carpenters, equipment operators, crew leads and laborers.
• SWiC members spoke at 12 high schools and colleges in 2025 and organized construction camps for middle school girls in Florida and Indiana, carrying the brand to hundreds of students exploring construction careers.

A logo can’t take credit for promotions or awards. But it can make a movement visible — and SWiC’s identity has done exactly that, turning an internal program into a recognizable presence across the construction industry. The brand Reputation Ink built gives that ambition a face — one bold enough for a jobsite and versatile enough to grow with the program, from its first pilot class to the ballparks, classrooms and convention stages where SWiC now shows up.