Logo Design

Remember me asking for your help to rename Suzanne Dibble’s business law practice Lawyers4Mumpreneurs? Suzanne came up with the name Stellar which we loved as this name perfectly summed up Suzanne’s focus on excellence and was strong without being ball breaking.

Interestingly whilst there was an overwhelming vote for the Stellar name, the comments sparked a good debate with many people preferring the name Lawyers4mumpreneurs and a good percentage favouring using Suzanne’s surname Dibble.  This debate was really valuable to Suzanne in helping her think about the direction for her brand, so on behalf of all of us, thank you.

Your comments and input have really helped Suzanne clarify where her business is headed with the upshot being that Suzanne has decided to retain the Lawyers4Mumpreneurs brand   but also diversify her business and launch a second brand, Stellar, which is what we’re focusing on.

The Stellar arm of the business  is aimed at really ambitious business owners (Dragon’s Den types) – and having worked with famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson and Simon Woodroffe (from Dragons Den and founder of Yo Sushi and other Yo brands), Suzanne is perfectly placed to help any aspiring Richard Branson.

Suzanne’s core values still apply: quality of service and approachability along with a new  brief – exciting, dynamic and stylish. Warmth was also important, so we kept within the Autumn colour palette but with just a splash of Winter minimalism for good measure…

Here’s the colour palette – strong, but warm.

And I think Caroline has done a stellar job (ahem. Excuse me, I just couldn’t resist) with these logo designs. We brainstormed concepts together in the Guildford studio and then Caroline mocked up each logo design into context as well just so that Suzanne could visualise where the brand identity was headed.

Concept One

I love the feminine simplicity of this concept. It looks warm, very stylish and I think, very dynamic too.

I love the textured paper Caroline has suggested for this design as well as the Letterpressed business cards (we do have a bit of a thing for them at the moment). The texture is so Autumn and the quality of them fits so well with the Winter elements of Suzanne’s brand.

Concept Two

I love this one too. I love the font, the icon and the colour palette. Somehow it manages to be substantial yet elegant at the same time. Love it.

More letterpressed stationery to add that luxurious, quality feel whilst the colour and texture keep things grounded.

Concept Three

I love American design and this has a real Californian feel about it. Very understated, very strong and the most gender neutral of them all. This is the concept that Suzanne responded to most of all and we’re currently in the process of refining the font to take the logo design forwards.

I love the boldness of the logo designs in context – especially the colour blocked stationery – oh so on trend!

What do you think?

Tagged as , autumn logo, law4mumpreneurs, letterpress, Logo Design, logo development, suzanne dibble in Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Logo Design

If my post yesterday remotely inspired you about the art of letterpress then I thoroughly recommend you rush out and buy yourselves a copy of Reinventing Letterpress: Prints by Contemporary Practitioners by Charlotte Rivers. Caroline and I discovered the book at our field trip to the Design Museum a couple of months back and I have kept the book at home ever since to browse through when I get a spare five minutes. Only recently did it make its trip into the studio…

I’m a bit of a book a holic. I’m sure there’s a better word for it than that but I love to collect books. Our home is full of them. Thousands of books on design, gardening, cooking, crafting and novels, all neatly colour coded or stacked in nice piles with flowers on top. I never leave a school fair without a book or two under my arm, and I’m often caught with Amazon parcels arriving at the house. I always think online shopping is a bit like eating straight out of the fridge (you know how the calories don’t count if you’re standing up?) – well I always think it’s not real shopping when you buy online. But I digress…

As books go this one is a corker. Beautifully photographed, reassuringly tactile and page after page of pure inspiration. There’s also a bit at the front on the history which I confess to skipping over…

Each page includes details on the designer/ printer as well as some of the thought behind the design. There’s also a really useful sourcebook at the back with printers/ type etc for reference.

We will certainly be using this book in the studio for many years to come. It’s utterly stunning and packed full of inspiration. You can order from Amazon (note: this is an affiliate link) or pick up at your local bookstore. It’s a cute little book that would just as well double up as a coffee table book although I think it has plenty more substance than that.

If you have this book, I’d love to know why you bought it and what you think of it. Would you recommend it as enthusiastically as I have?

Secondly if you have a book that you think would be useful to Flourishing Blog readers then I’d love to hear from you…

Tagged as in Graphic Design, Logo Design, Recommended Reading

I’m sure it’s about time I shared some gorgeous designs with you isn’t it? And whilst it’s been a while on the blog, it certainly hasn’t been quiet in the Studio! We’ve been working on a number of really exciting projects – some top secret that I just can’t talk about right now, or I’d have to kill you. Others that we just need to give a bit of a nip and tuck to before we present them to you. But I digress.

First of the In The Studio This Week posts goes to brand, spanking new client G2 Digital.

Chris Hollidge runs technology company G2 Digital, who specialise in creating PC’s, Mini PC’s and Marine computers. We’re in the process of revamping Chris’s website to bring the design up to date, make the information more user friendly and importantly, start by giving the logo a refresh.

The Current Brand Identity

I could (and will) talk for a while about how the website could be performing more effectively. But for now, let’s focus on the design of the brand identity.

G2 Digital’s current logo design evolved out of a legacy from Chris’ father’s business (my, that’s a lot of apostrophes for me to misuse). And whilst Chris was keen to retain some level of continuity – perhaps with the colour palette or the pixels we felt it was time for a major refresh. Cue one design that the client wants to see and three that we think are more appropriate…

G2 Digital is without doubt Winter. Technology, precision and quality are several of the brand values we needed to communicate. And I think we’ve pulled together a cracking colour palette to kick things off.

Concept One

I think this one might be my favourite. And I’m not sure that’s because of how the logo looks on that t-shirt or the gorgeous combination of blue on blue. But I really like it, and it’s Caroline’s favourite too. Ironically it’s the only one Chris didn’t like.

Concept Two

This concept was all about bringing the existing logo design into the 21st Century. It still has that pixellated feel but in a more contemporary setting.

Loving the colours on this again. Caroline has produced some beautiful context work as well…

Concept Three

And a favourite of Rob and Stu. I love the strength in this logo design.

Concept Four

And now for something very different! One of the reasons we’ve really enjoyed this project is because we’ve been able to flex our creative muscles in a very un-flourishy direction. And we’ve loved it. These logos have been a real challenge for us but we have loved every moment. And I can’t wait to get started on the website!

Now tell me, which do you like best and what do you think of them?

Tagged as in Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Logo Design

Chrissie Slade creates natural aromatherapy skincare products for guinea pigs. And she is utterly fabulous and very passionate about her niche. Chrissie is the only person in the world (that we know of at least) to do this so she really has carved out a powerful niche for herself! She sells grooming products for guinea [...]

Tagged as in Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Logo Design

Did you pick the right one? Jamie loved the icons of option two and the font and strength of concept four, so we developed the two further and… Ta Da! I really like the colour combination and the strength in the font. Brand Development Jamie also asked us to develop his brand further for sectors [...]

Tagged as in Branding, From The Studio, Logo Design

I have been itching to share this identity with you for some time, and it’s only a lack of time that’s stopped me! Jamie Lywood is one of the UK, if not the world’s leading authorities on empathy and it’s link with profit. In other words, Jamie monitors how large corporates make their customers feel [...]

Tagged as in Branding, From The Studio, Logo Design

Isn’t this just delicious? Thank you so much for voting for your favourite Buttons logo a few weeks back. Following a few alterations I’m delighted to be able to share the logo and business card with you. The website will follow and will be equally cute and fun! Watch this space…

Tagged as in Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Logo Design

You know we love beautiful colour palettes – palettes that not only look great but that work together and powerfully communicate the message our client wants to. Well today I want to give you a bit of an insight into how we create these palettes. It’s easy to look at these harmonious palettes, all sparkling [...]

Tagged as in Branding, Colour Psychology, Logo Design

You must be ready to vote on another logo design? Surely you are? Oh go on then, get your polling papers ready and lets get ready to pick another gorgeous design for one of our latest clients… Buttons are a brand new children’s events company headed up by Ellie Kelly. Funnily enough Ellie ran my [...]

Tagged as in Branding, From The Studio, Logo Design

Now I know that we have a reputation for developing very engaging identities for companies that sell direct to consumers (b2c) but we do love to get our teeth into a business to business (b2b) project and I’m especially delighted to share with you the Holdfire re-brand that we’ve just delivered. We’ve been working with [...]

Tagged as , b2b, brand identity, business to business, powerful branding in Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Logo Design