Proud to Present: an earthy and stylish brand for Growthfully

Lovely Sarah Layton approached Ditto right at the very start of her business journey. Having attended one of The Brand Stylist's workshops, and with the experience of running two successful businesses in the past, she knew precisely how important it was for her business to be able to communicate the right image from the get-go. 

Growthfully brings together Sarah's skills and experience as an accomplished garden designer as well as a therapist. Growthfully is a unique proposition; different to a traditional garden designer, it's Sarah's mission to inspire people to get really involved in creating the garden they love and to gain confidence in their abilities as a gardener, helping them to flourish along with their garden. Through Growthfully, Sarah will also be working with garden designers to coach and inspire them as they create a practice that nourishes them and facilitates their best work.

Creating a brand for such a unique business is both exciting and challenging! We adore the opportunity to create something new and there's something quite liberating about working with a business for which there is no industry expectation.

The season personality

The seasons which best reflect Growthfully’s personality are Autumn and Summer. Autumn represents Growthfully best; Autumn personalities are warm, passionate and eternally interested in people. They have an insatiable thirst to learn which means they’re highly knowledgeable, and they’re generous with what they know to the benefit of those around them. They’re independently minded and like to do things their own way, unafraid to beat their own path if they believe there’s a better way to do things. They’re self motivated, independent and not terribly conformist. They’re earthy, wholesome and have a strong sense of integrity and responsibility. They adore the abundance and richness of the natural world.

Meanwhile, Summer personalities are stylish and creative with an understated sense of elegance. They love proportion and like to bring order to chaos. They’re highly intuitive; they’re gentle, nurturing and able to sustain and balance those around them with their soothing diplomacy. They appreciate good design and love quality. Summer personalities are very detail orientated and work hard to make sure they always deliver the best that they can do. They expect high standards of themselves and will not let you down. Summer personalities are inherently creative but tend to hide from the limelight. 

The combination of these two seasons will create a brand with warmth, strength and substance that also possesses that aspirational edge that's needed in order to be seen as an expert. A brand that’s simple, quietly stylish, curated but not over styled and that feels inspirational.

The brand

I adore this brand! There’s a sense of strength and confidence with a lightness that keeps it feeling creative and aspirational. We’ve been inspired by weathered natural textures, foliage and botanical illustrations. We love the balance of simplicity and detail that the botanical illustrations provide; they feel like a piece of art that’s lifelike enough to lack pretence. The illustrations have been carefully coloured with watercolour, providing a softness and elegance that's just right for Growthfully.

Typography includes established, old school serifs, flowing hand lettered scripts, and typewriter serifs for a nostalgic twist. Even the san serifs on this board have a sense of robustness to them: deliberately upper case, they provide a confident and authoritative tone that underline Sarah's expertise and credibility. 

Designs are minimal but intentional. They don’t contain any unnecessary fuss and they’re not giddy or frivolous. Each element has a place and purpose, and is carefully placed for maximum effect. Photographs with depth and warmth provide the perfect backdrop for inspirational messages while the seasonally-inspired illustrations we create add a beautifully personal touch to the brand. Just delicious.

Next up is the web design for Growthfully, which I'll be sharing with you soon. For now, follow Sarah's journey on instagram by clicking here.