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Sarah had started a small creative retail business, Lalaroo Creations while on maternity leave from her merchandising day job, and soon realised that there was a real gap in the market for helpful retail advice. She decided to use her two decades of experience from the corporate retail world to launch Flourish Retail in 2018, with a unique proposition to tackle that need.
Flourish Retail combines a friendly approach with a tiered offering of merchandising solutions – from affordable ‘off-the-shelf’ planning templates though to ‘made-to-measure’ bespoke consultancy. This approach supports independent makers who sell on digital platforms like Etsy to make profitable decisions as they grow, as well as supporting bigger brands who have more to invest.
I designed the identity to talk clearly to the consultancy’s indie retail audience, with an inspiring aesthetic that captures its brand values. The look is accessible, helpful and engaging, breaking down preconceived barriers to working with a consultancy and setting itself apart from the stuffiness of traditional merchandising.
The logo concept that I developed was inspired by growth and simplicity – two things that feature strongly in Flourish Retail’s ethos. We kept the tone light-hearted with lively patterns and an uplifting, warm and feminine colour palette in springlike tones. The brand also conveys expertise, trust and efficiency with clean design and simple brand typography to achieve the visual balance we were looking for. Distinctive and welcoming icons are a key brand feature and, together with graphics that illustrate the digital products on offer, they create a consistent brand feel.
The result is a fun, stylish brand identity that feels contemporary but can also grow with the business. We’ve applied it to business cards as well as to digital collateral to communicate across social media.
The Squarespace ecommerce website and blog I designed is a shop window for the consultancy. A seamless visual style for photography was a must to capture viewers’ attention, so I planned and art-directed a photoshoot to create a relatable look for the brand. The website clearly sets out the full scope of services, with an online shop and an array of blog posts to educate retailers large and small.
I’ve continued partnering with Flourish Retail as a virtual in-house designer since day one of the business, most recently designing an email marketing campaign for ‘Flourish Spotlight’, Sarah's monthly dose of retail merchandising therapy for commerce businesses.
Since her brand launch, Sarah has amassed an impressive client list including Scamp & Dude, Asquith and Calvin Klein. She has also grown her team, bringing four new merchandising consultants on board. Business is thriving.
It’s been brilliant helping this amazing brand to flourish just as it helps others to – I’m already looking forward to the next design project in the pipeline!
