Craft Coaching and Development
ReFresh Case Study
Background
Led by Ami Summers, Craft Coaching and Development help leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives and small business owners develop their creative skills and business savvy. Their ethos of bridging the gap between business and creativity is what drew me to them for business coaching. It was a lovely surprise when Ami turned the tables and approached me to do some work for Craft. Having worked with Ami one-on-one, I was in a wonderfully unique position of knowing what it was like to work with her as a client and experience all the magic of Craft.
Initially we had talked about creating some new templates and resources, but the more we chatted, the more I realised that Ami felt like Craft was growing up and out of the old branding. In her becoming clearer about her purpose and business, she had a clearer vision of how to visually represent what was in her mind. We took what she loved about the old branding, and transformed it into the more aligned, clearer version.
A lot of businesses find themselves in this situation and automatically think they need to do an entire rebrand. I get it, it's tempting to start from scratch again. But that’s not always the answer. Sometimes all you need is a lick of new paint, not an entire remodel.
So I suggested a Refresh. Same logo, different fonts, colours and graphics.
The process
Getting to know you
Every branding project starts with a homework form and some casual digital stalking from yours truly. I want to soak up everything I can about you and your business so that I can create a brand that truly reflects your unique offering. I was pretty lucky in this case because as I mentioned before, I had been a client of Ami’s – I knew firsthand what it was like to be coached by her.
Usually, we would have jumped on a call to talk about the homework answers but as we’d already chatted previously I went straight into creating an insights sheet. An insights sheet is a basic overview of all the information you’ve provided me and that I’ve sourced. It’s a way to check in before I start designing. It's important to make sure that I haven’t missed any vital information and that we are on the same page from day dot. It covers what you do, what your values are, the people you like to work with and how you want those people to feel when engaging with your business.
Once Ami approved the insights it was time to start on a moodboard.
It’s a mood(board)
When it came to Craft, I quickly realised that one of the things I had loved most about working with Ami was the way she approached structure. As a creative I can be a little nervous of structure, even though I crave it! The innovative ways Ami made structure feel accessible was so helpful in bridging that gap between business and creativity. It got me thinking about engaging ways to visually show structure. Which led to me geometric shapes that lend themselves to visual metaphors (balancing blocks, stairs, open doors).
But that felt a bit dry on its own, where was the creativity? Where was the spark, innovation and depth? I started playing around hand drawn pencil elements and rich textures. Suddenly it felt more creative and unexpected. Then I played with the colours. I went warmer, richer and more saturated, with equal amounts of softness and strength.
I collated this all into a moodboard, and sent it off to Ami. These days I record a Loom video to go with the moodboard, it takes out the guesswork and details my thought processes and ideas for the project. Luckily because Ami and I had worked so closely together she knew exactly where I was going with the concepts. We tweaked the colours a bit but otherwise, it was love at first sight!
Roll out
Style Guide
If you’ve invested in a branding refresh, it’s important that you understand how this new look works and that’s where a style guide comes in. A style guide details everything you need to create beautiful, consistent and on-brand visual materials. I believe in these documents so much that I now provide more extensive brand guidelines than the one pictured here (check out my rebrand case study to see).
Collateral
And that’s the end... jokes! The Craft team and I have created SO MANY beautiful and impactful resources together over the years. Interactive workbooks, presentations, icons, onboarding documents, stationery, email signatures, packaging, social media graphics, values cards, a coaching journal and more!
Here’s a little snippet.
It is a such a joy to work with Ami and her team.
Jena is an incredible designer with clever design solutions for small businesses who are wanting to elevate their brand, but do it strategically and mindfully. Jena has a way of picking the perfect composition, colour and vibe for your business that just feels...right, every time. Can't recommend her highly enough. Thanks Jena!
Ami Summers
Director and Lead Coach, Craft Coaching and Development
Check out Craft’s beautiful website, designed by Ange from So Right Creative.
All of the stunning images above were taken by Sophie from Sister Scout.