If you’ve had a scroll through the socials last week, you may well have seen that I’ve pressed the GO button on my fresh new website, whilst also revealing the revamped Culpepper brand at the same time.
This is an incredibly exciting (and nerve-wracking!) moment for any business – and one that I support my clients with every month of the year. But it’s fair to say that when you run a creative brand agency, your own high expectations add a fair helping of extra pressure when it’s you own new visual identity that you are presenting to the world.
So how did I go about it?
For those who are yet to work with me, Culpepper is a unique creative consultancy that I’ve lovingly nurtured for 16 years, building a family of clients and collaborators united by talent and intuition, bright business ideas and beautiful friendships.
I love to infuse each of our clients’ brands with unique Culpepper magic… and this has kept me very busy over the years! I know that the importance of thoughtful and original branding cannot be overstated. This is why I throw myself, heart, body and soul into every brand project I deliver. But, as the Culpepper family grows and evolves, I realised that our own brand image needed a sprinkle of fairy dust as well.
I needed to:
1. Create a look that was relevant and right for the business it’s become
2. Keep the Culpepper identity recognisable
3. Stay true to the core values at the heart of my business
I met with a few of the core members of my team and together we went through the bespoke Culpepper Brand Discovery Workshop. It was an amazing experience having someone else take me through the process, and so brilliant to be able to take a step back and reconnect with my business’s key values and purpose, and my own dreams and ambitions.
I then worked with my wonderful fellow designer, Liz and copywriter, Helen, to evolve the Culpepper brand into something that better represents the business we have become.
We modified the colour palette, chose a gorgeous new font, redesigned the logo and made all sorts of subtle tweaks, but if you have the time to spare I’ll share with you the biggest and most important parts of our rebrand:
We changed our name!
For a long time clients have referred to Culpepper & Co as simply “Culpepper”. It is so essential to listen to your audience, especially key stakeholders like my amazing family of clients, that this got me thinking. The ‘& Co’ means a lot to me, because collaboration is at the heart of my business.
In order to keep the collaborative element, yet align my brand with my audience’s view point, we did the following 2 things:
1. We added a strong strapline which would feature as a part of the visual identity. Culpepper & Co became Culpepper: The Creative Company. Not only does this improve SEO, but it perfectly describes the set up – Culpepper (me!) and Company (my amazing family of freelancers, clients and suppliers). It also emphasises that we provide support with ANY creative project. From more traditional design agency offerings like brand, online and print marketing to interior design, photography, animation, product design… basically anything you can think of that requires creative magic.
2. We added an elegant ‘&’ to the visual identity which will feature prominently across all touchpoints. This ‘ampersand’ or ‘and’ sits at the heart of the Culpepper ethos, representing collaboration and bringing EXTRA. Let me briefly explain…
I am so lucky to be able to work with amazing, inspiring people: The business owners and charity managers that make up my client portfolio, and the talented collaborators and trusted suppliers that help me to make the brand magic happen. I sit alongside these special people in partnership, and together we make stunning brands and enduring friendships that both stand the test of time.
Secondly, with Culpepper you will always receive EXTRA. We are different because we work to not only achieve but exceed our clients’ expectations all the way through the creative process. I hope that our special ‘&’ represents this ethos which is the very heart of my business.
And so here we are! Please join me to say a big hello to Culpepper: The Creative Company.
