A Comprehensive Rebranding
Client: Jessica and Jason Runge Owners, Roots and Wings Family Farm
Designer: Annie Leue Graphic Design V
“There are only two lasting bequests that we can hope to give our children…One of these is roots, and the other is wings.”
Hodding Carter
Project Overview and Background
Roots and Wings is an organic farm located in Cherry Creek, NY. Established in 2007 by Jessica and Jason Runge, Roots and Wings prides themselves on using sustainable farming practices and connecting the community with the food they eat. With a strong focus on educating the community about the health and social benefits of eating local, organic food, Roots and Wings has established their own niche in Western NY as a friendly, affordable, and accessible certified organic farm. Roots and Wings does the majority of their sales through their non-traditional CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a program which allows small farms to establish and maintain a close personal relationship with their customers, as well as an added means of making money. Roots and Wings is looking to expand their customer base from just those who participate in their CSA during the summer months, to customers who purchase produce all year round. Because Jessica and Jason no longer sell their produce at farmer’s markets, they need to find a way to draw customers in to them. By successfully attracting customers new and old to their website and subsequently to their online produce shopping cart, Roots and Wings would be able to expand their customer base to those interested in buying local, fresh, organic produce. The final design will consist of a uniform identity across print and web which appeals to wary new buyers in an approachable, yet professional way, thereby allowing Roots and Wings farm to continue sales through the non-growing seasons.
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Company Portfolio Since their inception in 2007, Roots and Wings has not had a unified brand. They have, however, had an overarching set of values which guide their farming processes and interaction with the community. Roots and Wings is devoted to sustainability, responsibility, transparency, and community education and partnership. As a certified organic farm, Roots and Wings goes through a complex recertification process each year, a testament to their dedication to honest, chemical-free farming practices. Their current assets include a 27-acre property housing a barn with a refrigeration unit, pasture for pigs and chickens, and spaces for growing.
Category Review Agriculture, education Roots and Wings is relatively new in their industry, especially compared to other local family-owned farms which have been operating for decades. Because they are so new, they have less of a solid foothold in the market. However, the customers they do have are loyal and shop with them consistently. List of Products: Organic vegetables, herbs, flowers, eggs, pork, and chicken. They acquire fruits and corn from another local farm.
Competition: Other, larger, more well-established organic farms in the area, including Busti Cider Mill in Jamestown, Porter Farms in Elba, and Thorpe’s Organic in East Aurora. However, Roots and Wings often collaborates with other local organic farms for produce that they themselves cannot produce, such as corn, berries, apples, and peaches. Other competition includes grocery stores, other traditional farms and CSAs in the area, and farmers’ markets. Pricing and Promotions: The majority of their produce is sold through their CSA program. Roots and Wings runs a non-traditional CSA, charging their stakeholders a onetime, non-refundable $40 membership fee only once their members have decided that this CSA is right for them, after the first two weeks. Roots and Wings’ CSA is also a Buyer’s Choice program, meaning that customers pay for and receive only the produce that they want, an aspect of this CSA which makes it very non-traditional. Traditional CSAs require a lump-sum payment before the growing season even starts. Then, when the produce is ready for distribution, customers are not able to pick what they want. They are given what the farmer has the most of. Industry Trends: The business of farming in the 21st century is constantly changing. The majority of farming today involves pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and inefficient irrigation systems. Many farmers are switching to planting GMO crops that are resistant to disease and pesticides, a tactic that allows for a greater yield for a shorter period of time. Meanwhile, a growing consumer awareness of the origin of their food sources, as well as a growing desire for naturally and organically produced food is leading to a significant outcropping of small, organic farms throughout the country. These farms tend to have a smaller yield than the larger, more traditional farms, but their consumer base is growing as more people are opting for organic produce.
Target Audience Customers who remain local or continue to visit throughout the year, rather than those who only stay or visit during the summer Large families with limited food budgets but an interest in nutrition Local restaurants in search of fresh, organic produce to serve to their customers Local schools interested in promoting locally and sustainably grown produce within their lunch system People who typically shop at grocery stores for the sake of convenience
Business Objectives and Design Strategies
Open up the business to new customers who live in or commute to the area and are willing to purchase produce into the winter months, rather than just in the summer.
Create a logo which gives the business recognizability and reason to visit the website, on which will have information about year-round produce purchasing
Appeal to professional organizations, as well as individual families
Create a logo and brand system which is clean, yet approachable. Nothing too obviously hand-wrought, but not too clean-cut either. Preferably a sans-serif, or well-done hand-drawn type. Must incorporate aspects of the farm without being too cliche or down-home. Colors should be muted, but not entirely earth tones. Pops of complex colors will help the brand stand out from its competition.
Express the business’s core values to new and existing customers Develop a clean, unified brand that functions across print and web Allow Roots and Wings to stand out from their competition while still remaining friendly and accessible
Project Scope, Timeline, Budget* Phase 1–Research organic farming, traditional CSA’s, basic information about Roots and Wings; complete a visual audit of current competition Phase 2–Develop interview questions Phase 3–Visit Roots and Wings farm and gather more specific information about how they run business Phase 4–Ideation; develop 60 thumbnails for logotypes Phase 5–Apply logotypes to stationary (10 ideas) Phase 6–Apply identity to an easily-navigable website and online shopping cart Phase 7–Complete entire identity system and present to client Phase 8–Implement finalized design
*Budget is currently unknown and is negligible until implementation. If my design is chosen, budget will account for stationary, printing, and website maintenance costs. The exact number for each is at the discretion of the client and the amount of each aspect of their collateral that they need, such as number of envelopes, etc.
Inspiration I found my greatest inspiration for this rebranding from our visit to the farm early in the Fall. There wasn’t a particular experience or object that inspired me, but the overall feeling I got from Jessica and the way she runs her business. She values transparency, integrity, and honesty in everything she does and that comes across in every aspect of Roots and Wings farm, from the atmosphere to the structure of the CSA program. However, because the farm is so new and it’s really only Jessica doing a lot of the planting and harvesting, there is still a roughness and a “play-it-by-ear” element to Roots and Wings. I believe that’s part of what gives the farm its charm. I based my logo design on that roughness, while incorporating a sense of lightheartedness and fun. It’s clear that Jessica loves what she does, and I wanted to express that love in her logo. I ended up choosing Saul Bass as my main source of typographic inspiration because of the perfectly random nature of his forms.
Sketches
Primary Mark
Full Color
Quarter size
Black and White
Grayscale
Secondary Mark
Secondary Elements
Design Elements
Colors
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Typeface Choices Clarendon Bold: Headings Scotch Modern, Regular and Bold: Body, print Myriad Pro, Regular: Body, web
Stationary
Business Card (front)
Business Card (back)
Envelope
Invoice Application to stationary system
Stationary photographs
Letterhead
Application to stationary system
Stationary photographs
Website
Website Splash page
Splash page with “enter� button highlighted
Home page
About page
Gallery
Recipe page