Today we offer you another case study showing the way which a brand passes to get its face designed. In one of the recent projects, the Tubik team had the task of creating a logo for a landscaping business with further stretching the style and visual presentation on a number of items promoting the corporate identity. This challenge was assigned to graphic designer Denys Boldyriev.

Project

Redesign of corporate identity for landscape firm LunnScape.

Process

LunnScape is a company based in Florida, USA,  and specializing in landscaping services to commercial properties like office and courtyard spaces, parks, etc. The firm was founded by Steven Lunn in 2009: it’s easy to see that the brand name presents the harmonic combination of the founder’s name with the keyword “landscape”. Being already established and known on the local market, the company strived for refreshing the visual identity and putting its promotion to the next level. The client came to us with a very basic branding they already used and wanted a new design corresponding to the modern trends and requirements and enhancing the connection with the customers.

We had already had a chance to create a brand identity for a landscape firm – it was shared here in the case study on logo design and corporate branding for Andre. That made the challenge even more interesting, as the companies providing similar services had different approaches and vision of their brand images and needed new original looks. There is always the place for a creative perspective in design, which makes the job so cool.

For this project, we accomplished a set of tasks according to the client’s marketing strategy:

• landscape company logo
• slogan
• theme illustrations
• corporate letterhead, envelope, and business cards
• stationery
• corporate vehicle
• style guide.

Logo

Brainstorming ideas on the task to design a logo for a landscaping business, most people will imagine something connected with plants, flowers or their elements. That’s a natural and very quick association. Actually, that approach had also been followed in the previous version of the logo presented with a simple stroke image featuring a leaf. However, keen on getting fresh stuff which would distinguish the company from the competitors, the client stated the wish to step aside from the traditional associations and try other creative directions. They wanted the brand sign to be dynamic, immediately connected to the theme of nature but moving away from ideas and patterns typical of landscaping logo design.

As well as in the previous case study on identity for the Reborn restaurant,  early ideas were visualized in the quick pencil sketches to catch the possible silhouette of the future logo and discuss possible directions of creative search with the stakeholders. After that, the set of basic digitized options were offered. To make the picture full and ensure how far the logo should move from the common associations set, the designer provided a variety of options, as you can see below. Some of the options were visually connected to the plants and greenery, for example, the lettermark made of leaves, the image of a flower, the shapes of landscape site patches also resembling the flower petals. Also, there were shown the shapes of trees presented in balanced geometric forms giving the room for flexibility in a landscape logo design. The other options in this set were focused on dynamic images of living creatures like insects or birds.

So, it’s easy to see that in general, the creative search moved around two global themes, flora, and fauna, both effective to set the instant connection to the theme of nature and land care. Thinking about the number of factors, the client put their preference on the image of a dragonfly as a mascot. Here’s the next stage of the logo design process – construction of a symbol image.

For the variety of usage options, the mascot image was added with the wordmark featuring the company name and accomplished in a style harmonically corresponding to the mascot. So, the final LunnScape logo is designed as a mascot of a dragonfly in an aqua circle depicting one of the fauna symbols which habitats in Florida nature. The dragonfly visualizes a bright creature on a green lawn, besides, its wings look like flower leaves. Turquoise circle with a dragonfly gives a solid stamp effect as well as looks playful due to the color palette. The wordmark typography complements and also unveils the core brand services of the company.

Both the brand mark and wordmark go hand in hand to keep an ultimate balance for user’s perception and brand recognition. Having agreed and polished all the details in the landscape logo design, the creative team moved to the work on the slogan and corporate identity development.

Slogan

The next step of the creative process was to support design with copywriting: the company needed a new slogan, so the copywriter was also engaged in the project. Short and catchy, the slogan had to support the idea of the beauty made by people but rooting in natural harmony. What’s more, the slogan had to set the tight link with the logo, so that in combination they effectively supported each other.

The company name uses the altered version replacing the keyword “land” with “Lunn”, but still preserves the general structure of the word so that the word “landscape” could be easily restored in mind. Among several directions for the slogan, we developed the one which used the word “land” actualizing its double meaning: land as an object of services the company provides and land as the action of coming down through the air and rest on the ground or another surface. This approach enabled us to set the link with the logo featuring the dragonfly so that together they presented the clear message.

After discussing the several sets of variants, the final version of the slogan was agreed upon “Landed on nature beauty”.

Branded items

Stationery and business cards

The designer prepared a set of templates for company documents, including business cards, letterhead, and envelopes, that reflect the brand identity in an elegant, non-distracting way. It enabled to stretch the design solutions of logo design for the landscape company and give them flexible ways of usage for different business purposes. As you can see below, business cards and the title page of a letter blank used the stroke version of the logo applied to the combination of corporate colors.

Illustrations

Another task was theme illustrations which could be used for marketing needs in social networks and on the website. Creating landscaping identity, marketing and design specialists of today know that custom graphic assets used for online sources of communication play a crucial role in strengthening solid online presence and recognizability. After a bunch of experiments, the designer came up with graphics in an airy style applying soft pastel colors and light strokes. One of the illustrations features people busy with gardening while the second reflects the airy view on the public space with landscape design. Illustrations immediately set a precious connection with the theme of the landscaping.

Vehicle

At the next stage, the identity design process for LunnScape was carried through to other company assets, including the corporate truck livery, which features easily recognizable branding.

Style guide

The client was also provided with a full set of guidelines for logo and identity use, including color palettes, fonts, and placement. Practice shows that style guides play a strategic role in brand development: all the further contributors will get clear instructions about correct and wrong ways to use the graphics created for this project. The document included several sections and informed about the idea which became the basis of a logo, its structure and specifications, color and monochrome versions which could be used for a wide range of purposes. Also, it showed examples of incorrect usage in order to avoid poor visual performance. In addition, all the branded items were included in the guidelines and described in detail.

The challenge to create a logo for a landscape company definitely is not a step into the blue ocean: the competition in this field of services is quite high and diverse. However, the red ocean is always the chance for designers to boost creativity and dive deeper in search of original decisions.

More Case Studies

For those, who are interested to see more practical case studies with creative flows for a logo and identity design, here is the set of them.

Binned. Brand Identity Design for Cleaning Service
App Shack. Logo Design for Digital Agency
Reborn. Identity Design for a Restaurant
Andre. Corporate Identity Design for Landscape Firm
SwiftyBeaver. Logo for Mac Application
Saily. Logo for Local C2C E-Commerce Application
Case Study: PassFold. Logo for a Mobile App
Case Study: Ribbet. Logo for an Online Photo Editor

Originally written for Tubik Blog
If you want to know more about the creative stages of the design process for logos, welcome to read our free e-book «Logo Design»

Сообщение Design Case Study: LunnScape. Identity for a Landscape Company появились сначала на Design4Users.

We have already shared case studies with the stories of creating logos and brand identity concepts for Ribbet, Passfold, Saily, SwiftyBeaver, Andre, and Reborn. The new story is about brand identity designed for Binned, the US-based cleaning service, supporting a cleaner and healthier environment for the local community by washing and deodorizing the trash bins outdoors.

Project

Create a brand identity for a trash bin cleaning service based in the US.

Process

Binned provides a service that cleans and deodorizes outdoor trash cans to promote a healthier environment in local communities. Based on that, a detailed description of the service and the brand image which the client wanted to set for the target audience, the designer was assigned to create the logo and a set of branded items that would grow brand awareness.

Logo

At the stage of the creative search, several directions were tested, including a minimalistic lettemark and also lettermarks showing the initial letter combined with bubbles setting the association with washing and cleaning. Another set of options included elephant mascot to evoke bathing, water, and environmental awareness.

Having reviewed the versions, the client tended to choose the logo presented as a lettermark but wanted it performed with original and friendly mood. So, the next stage developed this direction and the designer presented the set of colorful lettermarks applying the shapes of the wave to echo the idea of water splashes and cleaning and various gradients to make the image noticeable and catchy. Various color options for lettermark logos were also tested for visual impact.

The lettermark design most closely matched the business brand: the final version of “B” was developed as a visually appealing “splash” in watery blues. Also, the client was provided with the combination mark combining lettermark with the entire brand name in a simple yet bold font. These brand identifiers strongly evoke a sense of water, cleanliness, and fun.

The client was finally presented with vertical and horizontal variations in color, as well as a monochrome version, for the lettermark design. This approach provided higher flexibility for further marketing needs.

Horizontal version

Vertical version

The monochrome version of the logo is easily recognized and stands out on a variety of backgrounds and surfaces.

Also, the animated variant of the logo was designed to be applied on the website and in social marketing: the motion smoothly imitated the natural movement of water waves and splashes looking attractive and catchy.

After the logo was approved, the next stage of the design process was aimed at creating a branded idea supporting general identity.

Business cards

Business cards and other stationery items designed for the service reflect the minimalist color palette and typography of the brand identity.

Hangers

The set of hangers were also designed in the same visual concept: their purpose is informing users that it’s time for the bin to be cleaned with the key reasons why. The hangers also featured the funny and cute mascot – yellow bin: it was later used in the promo video for Binned which we will show you in our next case study.

Vehicle

The branding was carried through to the design of other company assets, including the truck livery, which features a bold and easily recognizable brand identity.

T-shirt

The logo stands up well to use on items such as apparel, where the monochrome background of items such as T-shirts allows the brand identity to pop.

Brand guidelines

The client was provided with a full set of guidelines for logo and identity use, including color palettes, fonts, and placement. Practice shows that the guidelines play a strategic role for brand development: all the further contributors to this process will get clear instructions about correct and wrong ways to use the graphics created for this brand. The document included several sections and informed about the idea which became the basis of a logo, its structure and specifications, color and monochrome versions which could be used for different purposes. Also, it showed examples of incorrect usage in order to avoid poor visual performance. In addition, all the branded items created for this project were included in the guidelines and described in detail.

To share the details about this project with our readers and clients, we added a new interactive case study in our portfolio.

If you want to know more about the creative stages of the design process for logos, welcome to read our free e-book “Logo Design”. Don’t miss the updates here, new case studies on branding, web and mobile design are coming soon!

Useful Reading

Creative Stages of Logo Design

The Role of Branding in UI Design

6 Creative Stages of Design for Branding

Identity Design: 5 Basic Types of Logos

How to Use the Power of Mascots in Branding and UI Design

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Design Case Study: Brand Identity for Cleaning Service появились сначала на Design4Users.

We have already published case studies with the stories of creating logos and brand identity concepts at the early stages of their business path. However, this time the story will have another flavor as we are presenting you the case of logo redesign for a company that is already recognized and actively operating on the market. The task for Tubik team was to create the new brand identity not breaking already gained links and associations.

Task

Redesign of a logo and creating the corporate identity for a commercial and holistic landscape firm Andre operating in landscape maintenance, tree care and design.

Process

First of all, it was important for the designer to study the conditions and philosophy of existing logo functionality, details about company activities and business goals and customer’s wishes about the redesign process. It should be mentioned that redesign for existing companies and products can have different levels of breakaway from the existing versions: some companies decide upon fully new design which has nothing in common with the current branding, while others keep the track of changes carefully and gradually, with minor alterations eliminating the risk of losing recognizability on the market.

The second approach was taken as a basis for this particular story because Andre is a company that has already won its audience on the market. That means any design change should be done with respect to the company’s history and philosophy as well as brand image grown through the years. Therefore, new design had to take its roots from the existing branding, but offer some refreshment and add some trend.

Certainly, to find the sign representing the brand, the designer needs to know as much as possible about the brand, its business goals and statement. Andre is a medium-sized company based in the USA and providing all sorts of services linked to landscape care and design of any complexity. The company is family-owned so its name origins from the last name of the family. The customers wanted a new logo to be quite classic, memorable, enduring and setting the strong association with land care. So, it was important initially to provide the visual sign that will instantly inform observers about the nature of the business and create positive vibes via the harmonic combination of shapes and colors.

After the market research and getting deep into the requirements and background of the company, the designer worked over the first series of sketches and offered the first version for the redesign. It was based on the round shape and featured green leaves as the central element of the composition. The designer also selected the corresponding version for the name lettering so that it looked readable and harmonic in combination with the image, supporting it but not overloading general visual presentation. The combination of several shades of green with light-blue set the image connected to key concepts of business activities: nature, landscape, plants, trees, sky. The designer applied smooth and rounded lines of different stroke weight and provided the variants filled with color as well as glyph one.

Another concept offered more linear and geometric variant also featuring the leaf motif and using a shape inside reflecting the form of capital A letter.

Although the offered style was appropriate, the customers insisted on applying the mascot in the logo image. The choice was made in favor of a bird and the designer offered the graphic option featuring the bird as a logo image. It also was applying the form of the leaf in the image used separately, but in combination with lettering, the leaf was placed closer to the letters.

One variant of a logo featuring the bird mascot used the image with the shorter beak and an eye featuring the mimic expression of the smile.

The idea of “smiling” positive expression was also tried in the variant in which the bird was inscribed into the circle. The beak directed upwards moved out of the circle setting the feeling of progressive flight, while the wing featured the form and visual marks of the leaf.

The general concept of applying the bird in the logo was set and agreed upon, but the customer and the designer decided on trying another iteration experimenting on simplification of the bird’s silhouette to make the logo not only attractive and meaningful but also clearly visible and legible in any size. This stage of creative search resulted in a new shape combining the visual concept of a bird and of a leaf in one image.

The final choice was made in this direction, which efficiently presented the mascot in clear simple forms, preserved color combination associated with the nature of the offered services and vibes of green and natural background.

Now let’s continue this story to unveil the further process of applying the logo and chosen the stylistic approach for the set of branded items presenting general corporate identity of the brand.

On the basis of this stylistic approach, the designer developed several variations applying the same color palette, typography, mascot and general visual perception for building the consistent and harmonic corporate style presented via different visual details on branded items. For all of them, three core visual elements supported the consistency of performance: the mascot showing the cute hummingbird, green leaves instantly associated with trees and plants and the lettering showing the brand name of the company.

Business Card

The first item to get into the set was a business card. No wonder: in the modern world, the business cards is not a sort of fashion, but a must-have for serious branding and business communication, especially in the domain of services. It is the real sign of respect to the customer. So, it should be not only informative but also stylish and easily readable. The designer provided two options of placement, horizontal and vertical, to set higher level of flexibility for possible goals and wishes that company can have in the future.

Vehicle branding

The next object of design exploration was branding for corporate vehicles. The company uses several options of vehicles which regularly do considerable business routes, therefore, neglecting such an effective advertising carrier would be unreasonable. So, the designer worked over the variants of harmonic placement of catchy and stylish branding elements for different models of vehicles.

Light background provided effective combination with the green palette of identity design presentation and set the high level of visibility and readability, important for this method of advertising.

Correspondence

One more direction of corporate branding for Andre company had to deal with correspondence, both physical and digital. In this field, letterhead and envelope were created for physical letters and also the special template featuring branding signs was designed for corporate emails.

Banner Design for indoor trade show

No secret that branding is not only about the logo and brand name but also the general style of visual components dealing with the brand, such as photos for websites and blog posts, banners of all kinds, posters and so on. One of the design tasks was to create the banner for an indoor trade show. For it, the designer created unique hand-made letting for the slogan copy to add originality for general visual perception and setting the strong emotional associations with a brand.

Jar design

Another object of design was a jar for candies or other stuff of this sort. The concept below shows the monochrome design with high level of readability which could efficiently work for the objects of this kind.

T-shirt

One more task for the designer was certainly connected with corporate T-shirts which could be effectively used as another nice and natural carrier of information enhancing brand recognizability and awareness. Again, the designer chose the light background as the basis of providing the airy and universal solution to the fast and clear presentation of the logo. Still, other variants featuring different color combinations and visual elements placement were offered to the set so that they could be used for a variety of purposes in advertising campaigns and everyday brand presentation.

On the basis of all the design solutions, the clients got the brand guidelines setting all the details of designed solutions as well as wrong variants of using the logo that could harm the perception of the brand image.

This case of a comprehensive design of corporate identity has become another proof that user research, market research, thorough attention to the customer’s requirements, and inspired creative search together make a great basis for efficient, informative, and attractive branding.

If you want to know more about creative stages of the design process for logos, welcome to read our free e-book Logo Design.

More Branding Design Case Studies

Quisine. Branding Design for Food Delivery Service

Logo Design: Collection of Creative Logos for a Variety of Brands

Dicey. Logo and Mascot Design for Party Game

MYWONY. Storytelling with Brand Intro Design

Inspora. Brand and UI Design for Virtual Stylist

AppShack. Logo Design for a Digital Agency

LunnScape. Identity Design for a Landscape Company

Binned. Brand Identity Design for Cleaning Service

Reborn. Identity Design for a Restaurant

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Design Case Study: Corporate Branding for Landscape Firm появились сначала на Design4Users.