Saint-Urbain rebrands Digs Dog Care with hospitality-style system

The Brand Identity: Digs is a national dog care network designed to acquire and partner with independent operators across more than 15 states. When Saint-Urbain took on the rebrand – transforming the company formerly known as Better Than Home – the challenge was creating a unified system that could bring diverse local operators under one recognisable umbrella while preserving the warmth and individuality pet parents value. The model draws from hospitality, where distinct locations operate under a shared standard of experience, care and trust. The name does significant work to back up that ethos.

Digs is a colloquial term for where you live, reframing dog care as a place of belonging rather than a transactional service. “Early explorations touched familiar territory for the category, with names rooted in care, comfort, home and play,” explains Alex Ostroff, Creative Director at Saint-Urbain. “Some felt friendly, others clever, but most were either too sentimental or too literal. They described what the business did, but not what it was becoming.” The breakthrough came when the team reframed the challenge through a hospitality lens.

The name scales naturally across storefronts, packaging, digital products and partnerships, supporting both the emotional experience for pet parents and the credible, scalable framework for business owners joining the network. A custom dog-face icon serves as the unifying symbol across locations, signage, packaging and digital touchpoints. Saint-Urbain was acutely aware that a dog icon can quickly tip into something juvenile, which would undermine a brand that needs to communicate trust and professionalism.

The solution was abstraction – reducing the idea of a dog to its most essential, recognisable features rather than illustrating a specific breed or personality. “We tested it early across signage, packaging and digital contexts to ensure it felt confident at scale, legible from a distance, and flexible in motion,” Ostroff shares. “Whenever it felt too expressive, we pulled it back. Whenever it felt too neutral, we reintroduced subtle personality.” A modular shape system draws from three ideas: movement, play and enclosure. Play introduces irregularity, preventing the system from feeling rigid or corporate.

Enclosure – the grounding concept, since dog care is ultimately about protection and trust – manifests in shapes that subtly suggest framing or containment without being literal. Clear rules for how shapes scale, overlap and interact with content allow the system to flex across retail environments, packaging and the website. The colour palette intentionally avoids the muted, conservative tones that signal safety but can drain energy and personality from a brand. Dogs experience the world through stimulation and contrast, so the visual language reflects that joy while still feeling reassuring to pet parents.

Bold colour moments are balanced by clean layouts and strong hierarchy, with colour used as a unifying thread across locations. Placard Next Condensed carries the brand’s voice in headlines and signage – its condensed, expressive structure working especially well at scale. ES Rebond Grotesque handles clarity and readability in digital interfaces and longer-form content. It’s neutral without feeling cold. The system architecture functions like a hospitality network. Core elements – naming, iconography, typography, colour and tone – are standardised to establish consistency and trust across the platform.

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The rebranding of Digs Dog Care represents a significant shift in the pet care industry by adopting a hospitality-style approach, making it impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals, though the concept of modular design is not entirely new.