This was a unique opportunity to work with a small-scale organic farmer who was extremely knowledgeable about her market. After spending her first ten years making do with a low quality logo, she was frustrated and ready to commit to a serious brand makeover.

The direct-to-consumer farm landscape is saturated with cute, rustic, handdrawn icons of vegetables. For years these have accomplished their goal of representing a family-run, small scale business against an industrial system, but as local food systems have begun to regain traction in recent years they have lost their individuality in a crowded market.

To differentiate Root Radical from other farms in the area, I looked into the specific customer base. As a share-based service, the majority of customers are educated with relatively high incomes. Their primary reasons for choosing Root Radical were health and environment, so I incorporated visual language from those industries using simple, clean lines and a palette of greens and blues instead of just working within existing farm conventions.

Since small farms operate on a limited budget, I ensured that the branding would allow for low-cost methods of reproduction. Early explorations looked at a primary black and white image with a watercolour fill for added interest in digital applications, while the final logo works equally well in monochrome or colour. Use of simple shapes and typeface with multiple layout variations ensures consistency and legibility whether the logo is on a phone screen or a delivery basket. A full brand identity guide was provided to assist with marketing moving forward, with guidelines for typography, colour, imagery, and tone of voice.