Does your branding mean something special to you?
Every founder, small business owner, and freelancer has a story.
A story about why they set up their business, why they do what they do, who they work with and why. A story about where they've come from and where they're going.
What's your story? Does your branding tell a part of your story, in symbols and subtleties?
Hey, I’m Amy, Founder & Lead Designer at Bloom Creative. Let me tell you the hidden story behind Bloom Creative’s branding...
(trigger warning: loss)
My grandma was an amazing woman. She was creative, strong (she raised two teenage boys on her own after losing her husband), and she was VERY generous. She spent most of her time either volunteering at church or baking ✨beautiful✨ cakes for family, friends, and acquaintances with profits going to the charity that supported her husband in his final days.
She passed away in 2014, four years before I ever started freelancing and eight years before I founded Bloom Creative. On many occasions I've wanted to talk with her about my business venture, especially when I started selling illustrated products; she was an artist too. It was with my inheritance that I bought my MacBook and iPad to get started - you could say she was my very first investor.
When I was thinking about what to call Bloom and how it could look, I wanted there to be a piece of my grandma in the brand. She often wore a purple flower pin badge, and purple or floral clothing, and as such her funeral had a purple dress code.
Bloom + Creative
Prior to Bloom Creative, my business was called “Amy Walters Art & Design”. This served me well for several years as I grew my client base and connections. But I reached a point where I wanted to move away from my own name and define the business by what we offer AND the transformation businesses get from our services. I’d decided early on that I wanted to swap “art & design” for “creative”. There’s so much more we offer than artistic talent and design skills: we brainstorm new creative ideas and undertake wider creative projects.
Then came the question: what should go with ‘creative’?
During the name brainstorm, I was continually drawn to floral/nature/growth words. They summed up the transformation (growth) of businesses that invest in our branding and design services, and the transformation into a business that looks new/fresh/beautiful. One word stuck: Bloom. Not only did it say how we transform businesses, but it was also a floral word. My grandma loved to wear flowers and I love to get outside in nature and explore.
The colour purple
From a branding perspective, we gave some thought to the colour purple. Colour psychology discussions around the colour purple include associations with royalty, richness, creativity, imagination, wisdom, calm, confidence, individuality, and encouragement. These stem from 1) a time when purple dye was the most expensive and reserved only for those who could afford it, 2) the purple-hue of galaxies in the night sky, and 3) religious/spiritual connections. The colour purple is also largely resistant to fading when used in fabrics.
Bloom Creative is a company that builds businesses up, gives them confidence and encouragement, has a creative imagination for new ideas, and adds richness to businesses (both in profits and in the depth and quality of their branding and design).
This, coupled with my grandma’s love for the colour, made our brand colour a no-brainer; it had to be purple.
Beyond looks
My grandma did more than inspire how we look and what we're called... she, along with some other brilliant people in my life, inspired our values and our vision. She was creative, loyal, resilient, caring, and helpful. Our core values are:
🌟 Creativity
🌟 Quality
🌟 Integrity
🌟 Care
Whilst Bloom Creative exists to enhance your branding and help you to bloom with our creative services, our name and our brand have a subtle meaning for me. It reminds me of her, it inspires me and encourages me to keep going.
So I’ll ask you again... What's your story? Does your branding tell a part of your story?
Considering a rebrand? Check out our free guide “blooming into something new” which covers 5 ways to know if your brand needs a refresh as well as the how, the when, and the what now.
