Every now and then someone will ask me if I ever work with male clients. I spent most of my corporate career working with and for men, and most were the best bosses I ever had. However, since I named my business “Let Her Fly” several years ago, it stands to reason that my clients are primarily women. It’s nothing personal against men; I’m just more passionate about supporting women-led businesses.

Then last year my husband, John, launched a side hustle, and guess what he needed. Yup, a visual brand. And guess who he asked for help. Well, me, of course. But we had to do a little negotiating first. ? I would design his strategy and brand if he would work through the StoryBrand 7-step Framework so we could create that all-important language for his brand. He agreed and we got to work.

If you haven’t met my husband, he’s always building or rebuilding something. (If you do know him, I see you nodding.) In 25 years of marriage, we’ve built or renovated 6 homes, and he’s currently building an overland trailer for this summer—from scratch. When our refrigerator died on New Year’s Eve, he found the parts and people to solder the repair that Maytag said couldn’t be done, and just last week he fixed our broken toaster. He’ll tackle just about anything with his skill, time, and perhaps a Youtube video or two. In case you’re wondering, he has a regular “day job” and this tinkering is all during his free time.

This brand project was a fast-tracked version of my usual Signature process, but you’ll see that we still covered all the mission-critical pieces and created an effective result.

1 | Brand Strategy

Beautiful cabinetry has always been one of John’s finishing touches in our ongoing home renos. Two summers ago we were visiting my family in Virginia (remember those days when we could just hop on a plane??), and we stopped at a local winery. They had Adirondack-style chairs on their property made from wine barrel staves (the individual strips of oak that form the barrels) which were unbelievably comfortable. And I could almost see his creative wheels start spinning. He snapped a few pics and began drawing.

A few months later, he created a one-of-a-kind rocking chair from recycled wine barrels that’s even better than those we first sat in. His first prototypes were my Christmas present in 2019. After those, he made a few upgrades like a pull-out footrest and dual beverage can/wine glass holder, and Rockarondack was born. 

Once he finalized his StoryBrand Framework, we dove into his Brand Strategy. Our keywords are distinctive, earthy, and adventurous. The autumn color palette is rich and warm, with a feeling that’s both elegant and rustic. Living near the majestic Rockies, we wanted his brand to appeal to customers who love the laidback, handcrafted Western Canadian style.

2 | Logo Design

The logo icon is the side profile of the finished chairs, which also loosely makes the letter “R.” By stylizing the illustration, I was able to pull in several of the brand colors but still keep it simple. This was important if John wanted to engrave or stamp his logo into the chairs. The primary logo is very long, which is ok for most applications, but I also designed a simple square one if he needs a compact version. The typography is clean and classic, like letters carved into an old wooden sign. 

3 | Brand Board

All the pieces come together in the Brand Board with a variety of logo marks, on-brand fonts that work easily on his website, and a specific color palette.

4 | Website

With all his brand elements and some family photos taken by the talented Sue Moodie, I created a simple one-page website in Mailchimp. While Mailchimp isn’t a platform I’d recommend for long-term growth, it’s free and you can still link to Google Analytics to track your visitor data. The platform has just enough bells and whistles for a free, easy-to-implement website. It works for what John needed in the short term.

How does John feel about the final result?

“After 25 years together, we rocked another project—I love the final result!”

– John Clayton, Designer & Builder, Rockarondack

To learn more about Rockarondack:

You can learn more about John and Rockarondack on his website or Facebook page. And if you live in Western Canada, yes, he has chairs for sale. ?

How about you?

If you’re ready to “rock” a new brand that feels more like you, book a free consultation and let’s chat!