As we grew, it became clear during my user research sessions that our identity was perceived as cold, corporate and disconnected from the natural world.
A restructure and pivot in product focus presented the ideal opportunity to inject some warmth, softness and emotional connection into the identity and I began advocating for a change.
I identified the need for a lifestyle focus and building on current visual trends to appeal to a more casual and varied garden loving audience. I conducted a series of design explorations in order to establish a new direction for Candide's visual language.
A part of the development work I was able to correct some of the problems with the existing logo – its unbalanced nature, inconsistent execution and frequent confusion with a butterfly.
Example images and illustration selected to evoke the eventual tone for commission and briefing.
Iterative Improvement
With the help of designer Oli Batstone, I was able to bring in elements of the design exploration to the last iteration of the Candide consumer website. Updating the information hierarchy, typeface and colours – making it easier to navigate and giving a more contemporary feel. Taking advantage of our iterative product development process to improve things immediately rather than waiting for overarching branding project to be completed.
An emotional hook
When talking to customers they would often relate a memory from childhood – gardening with grandparents or a scent in a garden taking them back to a half remembered summer holiday. How might we evoke similar feelings in potential customers? Bring them back to those memories and inspire them to create new ones.
I settled on the idea captured in the phrase "touch grass" – commonly used to implore someone to step away from the screen and get some perspective.
Working together with Tom Wade, Lara Nouri and Mike Hughes, we created a series of short positioning films using existing footage and stock. Exploring this idea from different angles in order to win buy-in from colleagues.