Each client journey starts off with a series of questions to gain insight into their business, goals, clients, and of course their specific branding needs. This step always helps us to unearth insightful pieces of information which become critical to the branding process. The words, phrases and language I gather from these questionnaires help shape the design process. It was no different with my latest client, Doula Joyce.

In her questionnaire Joyce used words such as supportive, caring and helpful to describe how interacts with clients and how she wants them to view her brand. Hearing those words, and hearing Joyce's heart for what she does through our consultation phone call, made me excited to work with her to craft the perfect brand identity.

As I mentioned before the name of Joyce's business is Doula Joyce. Although, I don't think business would be the first word she would use to describe what she does. Joyce is a Birth Doula. For those of you unfamiliar with the term a Doula offers emotional, physical, and informational support to women and their families through child-birth. She works with families, before delivery, during labor, and postpartum. She looks out for the emotional well-being of mothers, and offers support alongside the medical team. Her goal is that mothers will experience a sense of wholeness. So, now that you know all that - let's dive into the branding.

INSPIRATION

Armed with the knowledge that this brand needed to convey wholeness, support, and care I set off to figure out the best way to represent that. Through Pinterest inspiration, research, and brainstorming I decided we needed something organic to encompass this concept. Imagery such as circles, water ripples, feathers, and flowers all felt very simple and inviting.

FINAL BRAND

The final branding captures the elements of wholeness, support and care with feminine simplicity. We chose to incorporate circles, and a feather element to give us simple organic imagery. The playful soft brand colors feel warm, inviting, and suit the families she will serve. Check out the full brand below.

BRAND COLLATERAL

As a part of the branding for Doula Joyce, we created business cards to extend her brand to printed collateral. These darling cards incorporated a few of her brand colors, and the feather imagery in a couple of different ways. Business cards will give her an easy way to further communicate her brand, and maybe an important point of contact.

If you are interested in finding out more about Joyce and her Doula services available in Lincoln, Nebraska you can find out more information over here on her website.

Are you a creative entrepreneur or small business owner looking to take your branding to the next level? Let's chat about how we can give you a custom visual identity that will communicate with your customers, and embody why you do what you do.

Let's Chat about branding

The design and branding process often begin much earlier than you would think. Brands start being formed in the way you present yourself, what you value in your business, and how you tell your story. Many of those things are being developed long before clients pop into my email inbox looking for help with branding.

My job as a designer is to dig in and discover the ways their brand has been forming, and to be able to capture that story visually. I was excited to chat with Vanessa Thomas Photography and discover all the ways her story was beginning to form her brand.

Logo Design // Vanessa Thomas Photography // Machelle Kolbo Design Studio

Vanessa Thomas, of Vanessa Thomas Photography, has a deep passion for photography even though it has been a journey she just recently embarked on.

Through our conversations it became very obvious how much Vanessa loves her clients and wants to capture their special moments. She approaches her business with gratitude, grace and kindness. These values are deeply rooted in her faith, and show in the heart for her clients.

The only piece missing was a logo and branding that could convey the genuine kindness, natural grace, and sweet simplicity of her photography. I was excited to step in and capture those qualities in branding that will serve her business for years to come. Follow along for how this brand came together.

Branding: Vanessa Thomas Photography // Text Logo // Machelle Kolbo Design Studio

INSPIRATION

A lot of the branding inspiration was found in natural elements of leaves, moss, and greenery. These elements reflected Vanessa's genuine kindness, and desire for natural moments. We changed color direction slightly throughout the project, but in the end landed on the natural green tones.

STYLE

Vanessa was attracted to illustration and hand-lettered text. A lot of the logo concepts included a mix of both. Illustration and lettering are some of my favorites to incorporate into brands so this was a no-brainer.

FINAL BRAND

The final branding included a main logo, secondary text-only logos, and multi-colored monogram icons to use as social media images and watermarks. We stuck to a very earthy, natural color scheme that comes across in a beautiful way. The colors and simple feel also capture the feel of her photography. A lot of Vanessa's work captures people with elements of nature in a simple, genuine way. This branding beautifully captures the story unfolding for Vanessa's photography business.

Overall, this was a fun project to visually represent the story happening in Vanessa's business. With a heart and passion for capturing genuine moments already in place my job was to visually represent that brand through illustrated details, hand-lettering and a cool color palette. I'm thrilled with how it all came together! Want me to dig-in to your branding? Let's Chat!

What are your favorite pieces of this branding project?