Hey Bud Vet

Veterinarian in Hawthorne

Creating a pet-centred brand with heart and personality.

Background

Hey Bud Vet is a new veterinary clinic launched by experienced vet Devon Bornhütter. Entering a well-served area, the business needed a distinctive identity to stand out, attract loyal pet owners, and reflect a more holistic, pet-focused approach to care. LloydGrey was engaged from the start to develop the business name, brand strategy, and full brand identity to bring the vision to life.

The challenge

The original plan was to name the practice after its location—common in the industry—but we saw an opportunity to do something very different. We needed a name and brand that was warm, approachable, and not geographically limiting. Most importantly, it had to align with the founder’s unique approach: connecting with pets on their level and reimagining care from their perspective.

Brand strategy and naming

Through discovery workshops, we established a strategic foundation, including brand mission, vision, values, promise, and personality. Observing Devon with his dog Meredith and patients revealed a natural, heartfelt greeting: “Hey bud.” This simple phrase captured the essence of his approach and became the perfect brand name—casual, friendly, memorable, and genuinely pet-first.

Key elements of the brand strategy included:

Mapping market position and stakeholder needs
Developing customer empathy profiles
Creating a Brand Roadmap and Concept Blueprint
Naming criteria covering distinctiveness, likability, clarity, and protectability.

Brand identity and design

We designed a brand mark inspired by the shape of dog and cat noses—also resembling inverted speech marks—to symbolise communication between vet, pet, and owner. The typography was custom-designed: friendly, soft, and rounded, with playful curves subtly referencing pets’ noses, ears, and tails.

The colour palette is distinct compared to the typical medical blues and greens. Instead, it features a warm brown base with contemporary pastels—salmon pink and aqua green—giving a fresh, welcoming feel. These expanded into complementary ochres, purples and yellows for flexibility across interior design and merchandise.

Illustration, language and touchpoints

The tone of voice is contemporary, witty, and empathetic. Illustrations are full of character inspired by the pets’ personalities, and used across key brand messages, signage, social media and print. Every element of the identity reflects the practice’s mission: to give pets a voice and reimagine vet care from their perspective.

We supplied a full brand kit including:

Brandmark suite and artwork for all applications
Comprehensive colour specifications
Stationery, email signatures, signage design
Key brand assets for web development
Messaging and illustration style
Support for fit-out direction and launch promotions.

Impact

From the outset, this project was more than a branding exercise—it was about imagining what the business could become and building the foundation to make it real. The Hey Bud Vet brand captures the unique values, warmth, and ambitions of its founder and team. Every detail, from the name to the signage, was deeply personalised and purpose-built to express what makes this practice different.

The result is a brand that truly stands apart—a category of one. Within months of launching, Hey Bud gained rapid traction in the community, reaching many of its first-year goals in just three months and operating at full capacity. By the end of the first year, the business had already grown its team.

As the practice continues to evolve, Hey Bud has returned to LloydGrey to guide internal culture and brand alignment, with the brand continuing to shape every moment—big and small—of the business journey.

Deliverables

Brand Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Identity
Brand Messaging
Illustration Style
Signage Design
Launch Promotion
Brand Culture Workshops
Project Management

"Tim and Nicki have been instrumental in the success of our business. From day one, they invested deeply in getting to know us, our ambitions, our worries...
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…our values, and what really makes us tick and what we want from our business. It never felt like a branding exercise; it felt like being brave enough to dream out loud about who we could become and then building the path to get there.

Through that process, they tailored a brand that’s not only palpable and recognisable, but completely distinct – a category of one. They helped us carve out space that no one else occupies, by drawing out what makes us truly different and turning that into our biggest strength. Every asset, word, image, colour, advice is always tailored to us and the brand and everything they have done has excelled the trajectory of our business and brand.

As professionals, Tim and Nicki are generous, insightful, and fiercely thoughtful. As people, they are some of the kindest and most encouraging humans you could hope to have in your corner. They’ve been there for all the big and little moments in between and we couldn’t imagine our business without them.”

Owner — Hey Bud Vet