Brand design, strategy and web design a for sustainable marketing company

The brief…

Founder of The Sustainable Results Lab, Ruth Smith, came to me to help her achieve her dream of creating a business that brings world-class digital marketing to the environmental sector.

Ruth explained to me that she’d discovered an abundance of sustainable tech companies creating the most incredible technologies - the kind of tech that has the power to change our world for the better. But that many of these businesses were run by engineers who were full of passion but lacking in the ability to explain what their technology can do for the world, in terms simple enough that it engages the right people - their potential clients and investors.

Ruth needed a brand and website that could demonstrate how engaging marketing can boost a business.

The process…

Step1 - Brand discovery:

During a 2.5 hour workshop I guided Ruth through a series of exercises designed to help her explore her customer’s motivations, analyse her competitors and identify the essence of her business. This workshop helped us uncover the strengths in Ruth’s business that we should be expressing with the brand.

Step 2 - Creating the brand:

After the workshop I created the following Why, What, How statement:

Why: We want to leave this planet in better shape than we found it.
What: We help environmental businesses grow. Sustainably.
How: With our process: Research. Create. Measure. Grow. Repeat.

These statements were at the front of my mind when I created the brand mark.

< The What statement became the business strap-line. It helped Ruth express succinctly exactly what her business does.

The illustration style:

A lot of Sustainable Results Lab’s clients struggle to create visuals that explained their complex technologies in a simple and engaging way, and our competitor analysis revealed that a brand illustration style could help them stand apart from their competitors.

So, I created a brand illustration style that playfully demonstrates how the Sustainable Results Lab can help dry technical subjects appear more engaging. Only parts of the illustrations are highlighted with colour - the idea being that these are the parts that Sustainable Results Lab has helped shine a spotlight on.

Planning the website:

Because we knew we wanted to use illustrations throughout the site, sketching and wire-framing at the same time enabled me to consider both the UX constraints of a web-page and the most effective imagery to deliver the brand message, at the same time.

This also meant I was able to quickly express my plans for the homepage design to the client before moving onto the high fidelity designs.

On this homepage the aim was to deliver Sustainable Results Lab’s brand proposition as quickly and clearly as possible, and then encourage visitors to sign-up to a free email course.

The high fidelity designs:

The final designs are created using Figma, which enabled close collaboration with both client and developer. Ruth was able to log in and check-in on my progress, leave comments on my designs, and she even has a set of Figma templates she now uses to create blog graphics for the site.

The result

With a confident and memorable brand and website that backs up her many years of expertise, Ruth has been able to hit the ground running with her new business. This is what she had to say:

“Megan created a world-class brand and web design for Sustainable Results Lab. I’ve had so many compliments about her design and illustrations, which is opening doors and creating leads. 

I still smile every time I look at her illustrations and we had so much fun creating small touches to delight users.

I’ve worked with lots of designers over the years and Megan stood out as truly exceptional. Her workshop and process she guides you through are brilliant – focused on your target audience and business goals.

I now have a confident, professional brand that I’m proud of, with reusable design assets that I use in our marketing.

Highly recommended and a brilliant investment.”