Sam met Will, the Founder of Four Winds Horticulture, at the church they both attended in Loughborough where Sam was a student. Will is an absolute whiz when it comes to plants, so when he asked us to help him craft a visual identity for his new horticulture business, we were truly honoured.
The client
From a very young age, Will knew he wanted to work with plants. He started gardening at the age of six, and that was that. After he finished school, he got a National Diploma in Horticulture (with a triple distinction), followed by a 1st class BSc (Hons) degree in Green Space Management from Writtle College. That wasn't enough, so he did an MA in Historic Design Landscape, also achieving a 1st.
To add to his head knowledge, Will worked at gardens at National Trust properties, Royal properties and stately homes up and down the UK, as well as travelling to New Zealand to work at gardens there.
After Will's job prospects were sadly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, he made the decision to go solo and start his horticulture company. This includes a garden consultancy and a plant nursery, under the same brand.
Will came to us to help him get Four Winds Horticulture started on the right foot. He wanted a visual identity that looked clean but classic, that represented his experience and expertise well, and that gave a nod to his interest in woodland gardening.
The process
Because of the nature of Will's business, the majority of the logo concepts we created for him were plant related, and so already came with a colour palette. This is different from most projects, so we flexed our process to suit.
Bekah loves plants as well, so she had great fun exploring different plants related to woodland gardening. Our first round of designs had all sorts of sketches, varying levels of botanical drawing, and some designs making use of negative space.
Rather than narrowing the designs down and then seeing each design with multiple colour palettes applied to it, the colour palettes naturally associated with each of these plants became essentially an aid for Will in choosing between them.
After much deliberation, we made it down to three designs: the yellow pimpernel which resembles a compass, the fern which looks like the wind symbol if you turn it on its side, and the ginkgo leaves which also point to the "four winds".
The result
In the end, Will chose the ginkgo design, because of the reference to the four winds, the symbolism of a Celtic knot in the middle of the logo, the negative space which resembles a second flower shape, and the strength of the connection to woodland gardening.
We were all set to hand over the logo, and then on the morning of handing all the files over, Sam had an epiphany. He passed his idea of an adaptation of the ginkgo design to Bekah, who brought it to life. We showed it to Will and he loved it straight away.
To go with the logo, Will selected the classic but friendly serif font, Merriweather. This nods to the depth of Will's experience, and the fact that even though this is a new company, Will is certainly not inexperienced.
Will loved the logo and enjoyed the whole decision-making process on the journey to the end result. He has launched a Four Winds Horticulture Facebook page to start growing his business locally, and we wish him all the best as he begins the entrepreneurial process.
Get in touch if you're looking for someone to help craft a visual identity for your organisation.