CLS Living
When CLS launched in 2015 as the management arm of Vesper Holdings, they came to market with a bold premise: that student housing could be reimagined with five-star service, immersive design, and operational excellence.
The strategy worked. CLS quickly became a top-ten operator in the category, known for landmark deals, award-winning service, and a culture built on people, precision, and performance. But while their name—Campus Life & Style—reflected their early focus, the company had already begun moving beyond it.
With a decade of success in student housing, CLS was boldly expanding into new territory. The challenge was to grow beyond its student identity while preserving the equity it had built. That meant redefining its brand architecture, elevating the core identity, and creating visually distinct materials across its three management verticals—student, on-campus, and residential—all while giving the leadership team a toolkit to tell the CLS story with clarity, confidence, and scale.
Brand Strategy & Architecture
Brand System Design
Corporate Culture Definition
30+ Student Property Brands
Property Marketing Packages
Amenity Branding
Website Copy & UX Strategy
Print Advertising & Email Marketing
Brochures & Sales Presentations
Evolving from Campus Life & Style to CLS Living
While CLS’s reputation was built in student, they had been operating in other verticals for years. But now, it was time to bring clarity—and unity—to the next era of growth.
The first step was aligning on the brand structure and name. CLS Living became the new parent brand—maintaining the well-known “CLS” shorthand, but removing the limiting reference to “campus.” Under CLS Living now lived three distinct verticals: CLS Student, CLS On-Campus, and CLS Residential. Each vertical needed its own messaging and market-specific focus—while still feeling cohesive within the greater brand.
ASCEND 360º: Defining a Platform for Performance
A major part of the brand evolution involved naming and developing CLS’s proprietary operations platform.
We articulated CLS’s signature methodology as Ascend 360º—a robust, integrated system for NOI optimization, operational efficiency, and value creation. Together, we built a name, identity, and messaging architecture that clearly communicated its power.
Cohesion Across Every Asset Class
To speak to a range of audiences—from university stakeholders to multifamily investors—we developed a vertical branding system that brought both clarity and nuance. CLS Student retained the brand’s hallmark boldness and energy, positioned as student-savvy, trend-aware, and performance-driven. CLS On-Campus leaned into trust, experience, and seamless partnership, reflecting the collaborative nature of P3 relationships. Meanwhile, CLS Residential took on an elevated, refined tone—projecting sophistication, intelligence, and asset-focused execution.
Each vertical came to life through its own distinctive color accents within a shared palette, as well as tailored voice and messaging, photography direction, and visual cues. The result was a cohesive brand system that flexed across audiences, delivering clarity and consistency without sacrificing personality or precision. Custom print and digital materials further extended the system’s reach, aligning each touchpoint with its target context.
Launching the New Era
With the full brand system in place, we helped CLS activate its next chapter. We created digital brochures for each vertical—clean, compelling, and easy for the team to update—and built a matching pitch deck system to ensure consistency across business development touchpoints.
A high-impact advertising suite rounded out the rollout, with templates for both print and email campaigns designed to scale.
A Legacy of Partnership
Our relationship with CLS spans nearly a decade—and countless touchpoints. From brand expansions and website launches to property design systems and amenity brands, we’ve grown alongside their team, pushing together toward what’s next.
Working with a team this driven is a creative privilege. And seeing a brand evolve this confidently into its next chapter? That’s what Together is all about.
This was the biggest evolution of the CLS brand in a decade, and we knew Together was the right partner to bring our vision to life. It was a complex challenge and a major lift internally, but Together aligned our strategy, communications, and design to set us up for the next ten years.
Elliot Tamir / Co-founder & Co-CEO
Let's work together.