April 4, 2018
I had the dear pleasure to work with my friend Stephanie recently as she was launching her blog Unwind with Steph. Steph was just starting off in the travel and wellness space so was looking for a brand identity and some help with her WordPress website.
She knew she wanted the look and feel of her blog to be sincere, down to earth and wholesome. She also wanted visitors to immediately be inspired but also feel a sense of calm when they landed in her online home.
To achieve the meditative quality Stephanie was after, I used a neutral, earthy colour palette to emote balance and serenity. It immediately makes the reader feel grounded. The green promotes health while the blue has peaceful qualities of the endless ocean and sky.
The typography choices were also made to fit in with the relaxation theme. I went with a clean, thin serif font for the main text and opted to pair it with a feminine display font for her logo. While we were going for a relaxation quality, we also wanted to peak a sense of adventure for readers to be open to trying something new.
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The symbolism of the hummingbird and the lotus flower were important to Stephanie. These elements became a focus in the overall brand identity. The patterns I chose to complete her brand were inspired by nature and give some texture for visual interest. The colours are neutral and support the overall theme of relaxation without drawing attention to themselves.
To assist Stephanie in visualizing how she would use her new brand, I provided a sample Instagram feed to guide her through her brand imagery. Also included, is one post template for motivating her readers with encouraging quotes. The focus here is nature and wellness but also to inspire and prompt adventure.
Steph’s target audience is passionate travellers and spa enthusiasts. They enjoy nature and are looking for a sense of calm during a busy day.
Her blog was going to provide a sense of comfort to those with busy lives, options for those that needed to get away and peace of mind for those stressed out by the thought of vacation planning. Her brand needed to inspire and invoke a calm sense of adventure. I think we were able to achieve just that!
At this point, I’d love to refer you to the Unwind with Steph blog but we actually had a change in direction on this project and started all over again! Curious to see what direction Steph took? Check it out here:
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