Context

Nuroosa is a new small business based in Derbyshire, aiming to open in the summer of 2025. Nuroosa will be a venue hiring business, with one building which shall accommodate weddings, wakes, corporate get aways, and well being visits. The building is currently under construction; however, it will be modern design, and have multiple rooms including a kitchen and a main hall. Surrounding the building is lots of green space, with flowers, trees and grass.

Nuroosa also aims to be as sustainable as possible, with the use of composting toilets, and other measures. In the future Nuroosa hopes to hold wedding ceremonies on site, which would take place under a tree. They also hope to build accommodation on site to allow visitors to stay overnight.

Brief

Ahead of their opening in the summer of 2025, Nuroosa would like to start promoting themselves, as well as take bookings months in advance. In order to achieve this Nuroosa needed a coherent brand which reflects their values, as well as business cards. They also thought a sign outside the property could help promote the opening of their business to locals, and in the future, would be used to clearly mark what is quite a hidden entrance to the property.

Logo Design

Research

After both parties agreeing we should work together on this project I visited the sight in Derbyshire, which allowed me to best visualise the space, and what the business will look like once opened. To help the later ideation process I ensured to conduct thorough research, building on top of the research already done by the client.

The client helpfully provided me with:

• Context to the business
• Images documenting the progress of Nuroosa so far
• A list of words describing Nuroosa
• A list of words that don’t describe Nuroosa
• Images representative of the vision they have for Nuroosa
• Colours they like
• Businesses they like

With the supplied material, I:

• Sorted the images into mood boards
• Identified some of the shared elements to the supplied images
• Created an initial colour palette
• Identified and analysed the visual identity of competitors
• identified and analysed the visual identity of other companies which had branding which reflected the brand values of Nuroosa
• Created a condensed list of brand values
• Word mapped this condensed list of brand values, beginning to work out how to reflect these visually

Initial Logo Concept

Based on my initial research I sketched many concepts, all aiming to reflect Nuroosa’s services, values, or both. I presented my three most successful ideas to the client, of which they picked the following:

The idea behind this concept was an abstract representation of the venue shape, made in the negative space of flowing lines which aimed to reflect community, togetherness, and caring.

Logo Concept Development

Following the client approval of the initial concept sketch, I began to digitally develop the logo.

My supervisor suggested that I should consider other methods of adding typography to the logo, pointing out the slightly awkward effects that stem from curving text around a circle.

After presenting this initial development to the clients, I received feedback that it all felt far too perfect, and had massively changed from the original design; they had liked the imperfection in the original sketch, particularly how the bounding shape wasn’t completely circular. Through discussion it was also suggested that incorporating vertical lines into the design could reflect trees.

 

In an attempt to make the design feel more natural, I explored creating a lino cut of the design. This resulted in inspiring a whole new visual direction for the brand.

 

My supervisor was pleased with the visual style of this logo, feeling that it was very unique, and that the vertical lines were successfully reflecting trees. It was also advised that I should try to get the representation of the building closer to the true shape of the building.

With this logo development the clients felt that the heavy shapes, while unique, were not reflecting them nor Nuroosa’s brand values. They also felt that the lines on top of the building looked like they should spell something out, particularly as it starts with what looks like an ‘N’ then a ‘U’ – (NUroosa). They still felt that the original sketch was a much more successful direction.

After having received feedback two meetings in a row that the logo should return to the visual style of the original sketch, I decided that the best way of recreating this visual style was to through a more refined sketch. I also explored with the use of oil pastels to create a rough effect which would reflect sustainability, and the idea of a bespoke service. Upon reflection I was too hesitant to explore creating the logo directly from a sketch; listening to the clients wishes earlier would’ve saved time for both parties.

 

 

 

Final Assets

Branding

 

 

 

Business Cards

Street Sign

The solution to the street sign was very simple, this was due to two main reasons:

• It would be located on the side of a 60mph country road, meaning it would have a very short view time
• The purpose of the sign is mark the hidden entrance to the property for guests

Because of these two reasons, I suggested that the sign should only contain the primary logo, and that the inclusion of a website, or description of the business would likely be illegible, and only lead to visual confusion.

Conclusion

This project was a great success. The clients were very happy with the results, and so am I. We both feel the branding reflects Nuroosa’s values, but also reflect them – which is important with such a personal business.

While I’m very happy with the result of the branding, business cards, and proposed sign design, there were areas for improvement throughout the design process. After getting the approval of the initial sketch, I immediately stretched the possibilities of that concept, ultimately drifting away from the initial style and feel. While I think it was a good thing to explore different visual styles, I should’ve also supplied the client what they had suggested they wanted as well, which would’ve led to fairer comparisons of the different options, and saved time for both parties.

The main takeaway from this project is a better understanding and developed skills relating to client communication. At the start of the project I had underestimated the importance of client communication, but I know realise that without the clients own input, the branding could’ve never truly reflected themselves, nor their vision for Nuroosa. By the end of this project I gained confident in our meetings, and feel I’ve learnt how to better effectively steer the clients towards certain decisions, and away from others.

Looking to the future, I hope to maintain a relationship with Nuroosa, and support them with other required material.

I’ve also discovered my enjoyment in branding projects, and hope to explore this pathway within graphic design further.