ivy 2021 Branding Guidelines by brycerimland

2021 Branding Guidelines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. COMPANY VALUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. TOOLKIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4. ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 5. PHOTOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

7. PRODUCT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 8. APPLICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 9. ADVERTISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 10. MERCHANDISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6. COPYWRITING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

INTRODUCTION 1

OUR STORY

As far back as she can remember, Bryce has always found an

One day during her sophomore year of high school, she had

appreciation and connection to nature and the outdoors. She

an assignment for her biology class that had to deal with plants.

would always help her mother and grandmother garden when

She and her mom went to Home Depot and looked at their entire

she was younger, and she took a great interest in gardening

plant section, and she found it super overwhelming. Even though

because of all the types of flowers and plants; it felt endless. She

she had been there before, this time she actually selected plants.

loved watching the different types of flowers bloom and she also

She eventually chose two small succulents and felt very excited

enjoyed taking in all the different smells. This was just the start of

about owning her very first plants. There was a slight problem

her love for plants. As she got older, she began to notice many

though. She had absolutely no idea on how to care for them.

plants being used for indoor spaces, whether it was in someone’s

She remembers doing some research about the plants as soon as

house or a store she visited. A lot of the plants were ones she

she got home, and everything seemed so foreign to her because

had never seen outside before, and the idea of bringing nature

this felt different than gardening outdoors. She figured that she

indoors was an interesting concept to her, since her own house

would just give it some water and hoped that it would stay alive,

did not have indoor plants. Seeing plants being used as part of

but after some time, the succulents were not looking great. On

interior decor became more common and she soon fell in love

top of that, she had to go out of state for a while, and when she

with the way they look indoors. They made her feel closer to

came back, they were completely unsalvageable. Each succulent

nature and she liked the way plants looked in an indoor space.

she got, they would die within weeks and she did not know why

OUR STORY

and what she was doing wrong. This made her lose hope in

She wrote down some things that she does in her daily life and

keeping any other plant alive since she could not even take care

some things that interest her, and so of course, plants were one

of a succulent, which is supposed to be the easiest plant to care

of her interests. She was not sure how she would make plants her

for. After multiple attempts, she decided to give up on owning

project, though, and how to turn it into a problem that she needed

succulents and figured she was not capable of taking care of

to solve. Suddenly, she remembered all of the times that she

any plants. This made her feel disappointed because she really

struggled to keep her plants alive, thus came her project idea, ivy,

wanted to succeed. Her break from owning plants did not last

which is a service and product that helps others keep their plants

long though and she decided to give it another shot, only this

alive and thriving. Even today, she still struggles with taking care

time, she picked out a plant that was not a succulent. She swore to

of certain plants, so she knows others need this information and

herself that this one would stay alive. Fast forward to about two

would find her project helpful.

years later, the plant is still alive and growing and she has since added some more plants to her collection.

To understand her target audience, Bryce did plenty of research on houseplant owners by speaking to them in person, over the

When it was time to start thinking of an idea for her Senior

phone, video chat, and Google forums. She collected quantitative

Project, she was completely stumped. It was not until classes

and qualitative data from those who own houseplants and from

actually started that she began to brainstorm some vague ideas.

those who would like to in the past or would like to in the future.

in them. She wants people leaving satisfied and help decrease the

think when it comes to taking care of plants, and this soon evolved

amount of houseplants that die. Like any other nature lover, she

her concept. Through her research, she found out that those who

believes that it is important to keep plants looking healthy, so she

do not own any plants worried that they will die in their care.

wants everyone to be able to make that happen.

They did not feel prepared to own a plant and some said that they have too much of a busy schedule to give plants their time and commitment. On the other hand, those who already owned plants said that they struggled to keep some alive because they did not know about the plants’ proper care, or they found out about the problem too late. Hearing all these responses, Bryce realized that her project needed to make owning a plant much easier for both audiences and this required her to expand her original idea. At first, she thought that a plant care app would be sufficient, but she learned that it would not be enough after doing her research. With a little help from guest critics, she got the idea of including AI technology into her concept. Imagine an AI plant sensor device that could connect to the app and send out alerts pertaining to the plant’s health. It would be able to sense things like the level of moisture in the soil, level of light, temperature, and more. Right away, she knew that was what she must do for her project, and that is how ivy came about. She hopes that her audience will like what she came up with and be able to see themselves using it. Her goal is to help a wide range of people with their plants and those who take an interest

OUR STORY

Expanding her audience helped her figure out the way others

COMPANY VALUES 5

OUR VALUES

Ivy's unique value is to help guide houseplant owners and potential houseplant owners in the right direction when it comes to caring for their plants. There are many people who struggle with keeping their plants alive, whether it is due to improper plant care or simply not knowing how to. Unfortunately, this is a common problem and it should not be because taking care of plants should not cause any added stress and frustration. Instead, taking care of plants should help people relax and it should be something that people enjoy doing.

THE PROBLEM Caring for houseplants can get pretty stressful because every plant requires its own unique care. Giving a cactus the same amount of water as a philodendron plant will definitely kill the cactus, so it is very important to understand a plant’s specific needs. Through numerous interviews and research, Bryce noticed that this was a common problem. People did not know what all their plants needed and that led to their plants dying. Out of the 39 houseplant owners she interviewed, 21 people admitted that

Plants and nature have many great benefits, both health wise and

a common struggle in keeping their plants alive and healthy was

for ones mentality. Ivy strives to show why houseplants are nice

watering. The others said not knowing how much sunlight and

to have and that any one can have them. Bryce wanted to focus

fertilizer plants needed was also a struggle. Some said that they

on the relationship between people and their plants and help with

did not even know what was causing the problem or they simply

their frustrations. She wants her costumers to feel confident when

forgot about the plant. With this information, it was clear that

caring for their plants and know that they are doing the right

these people could not always rely on the internet to help them

thing. It is all about growth and satisfaction.

out, so they had to figure out plant care themselves.

TOOLKIT 7

OUR TOOLKIT

When using ivy’s logo in any form, one must follow our specific

For ivy’s branding colors, it was important for her to have shades

guidelines and one may not go against them. We use ivy’s

of green in the color palette because green represents nature and

primary and alternative logo to represent the entire brand on

plants, but she also wanted to add some accent colors as well.

both web and print which includes our web page, packaging,

This is why she added pink and burgundy to the color palette.

products, services, advertisings, and merchandise. Our toolkit guidelines will explain the proper usage for ivy’s logo as well as what not to do, our typography, and color palette.

The typography for ivy includes three different fonts, a display font for titles and headlines, the body copy font, and the logotype. The display font is a rounder, thicker font, while the body copy is more

When coming up with the logo, Bryce sketched out 30 different

sharp and has a lighter weight to it. The logotype is a very bold

logos and then narrowed down to 15 to digitalize. Many of her

and dark font, so Bryce made the type all lowercase to balance

logo ideas were leaf shapes and had an organic feel to them

out the delicate logo for ivy.

with lines that flowed and soft edges. She chose her current logo as the final one because of its simplicity and fun take on a leaf illustration. The logo includes three colors: a bright green, a light forest green, and black for the main outlines.

FULL COLOR LOGO

This is what our full-colored primary and alternative logo look like on a light colored background.

FULL COLOR LOGO

This is what our full-colored primary and alternative logo look like on a dark colored background.

ONE COLOR LOGO

This is what our one-colored, black primary and alternative logo look like on a white background.

ONE COLOR LOGO

This is what our one-colored, white primary and alternative logo look like on a black background.

LOGO TOOLKIT

MINIMUM SIZE ivy’s primary logo, vertical logo, should be presented at a minimum size of 1 inch when printed and a minimum of 72 pixels on screen. The alternative logo, horizontal logo, must be presented at a minimum size of 2.5 inches when printed and a minimum of 180 pixels on screen. Do not go smaller than these sizes. 1” 72 px

2.5” 180 px

CLEAR SPACE There is a required clear space that should be followed when using ivy’s logo. The safe space can be measured by using the width of the “v” in the typeface for both the primary and alternative logo.

X X

any of the ways shown here, along with any additional effects.

DO NOT LOWER OPACITY

DO NOT ADD A DROP SHADOW

DO NOT CHANGE COLORS

ivy

ivy DO NOT CHANGE TYPEFACE

DO NOT STRETCH/DISTORT

DO NOT FLIP LOGO

DO NOT MAKE LINES THICKER

DO NOT CHANGE THE SCALE

LOGO MISUSE

Displayed are examples of ivy’s logomark and logotype misuses. The logo should not be presented in

TYPOGRAPHY

Title / Display Copy

Body Copy

Korolev Rounded Bold

Futura PT Medium

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 (.,:;!@#$%^&*?)

Logotype

Poetsen One Regular

Aa 15

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 (.,:;!@#$%^&*?)

ivy

CMYK: 44 13 37 0 RGB: 148 187 169 HEX: #93baa8

CMYK:43 0 56 0 RGB: 1151 207 146 HEX: #96ce91

CMYK: 12 2 9 0 RGB: 222 234 229 HEX: #ddeae5

CMYK: 0 30 23 0 RGB: 250 191 178 HEX: #fabeb2

CMYK: 47 80 76 73 RGB: 59 22 17 HEX: #3b1611

BRANDING COLORS

CMYK: 86 54 78 73 RGB: 1 40 27 HEX: #01271a

ILLUSTRATIONS 17

IMAGERY

Ivy’s branding relies heavily on illustrations and imagery and

colors, size, texture, and shape. These plant illustrations are also

they all follow a specific style. Bryce wanted the illustrations to

used throughout ivy’s packaging, merchandise, and advertisings.

bring her company to life and create a fresh new take on imagery for plant companies. The illustration style has a cute and friendly look to them and they all use similar colors.

Ivy’s mobile application includes many custom icons specifically for our brand. These icons consist of some that are one-colored and others that are multi-colored. There are a few icons that can

There are two patterns that are used throughout the whole

change colors when it gets clicked, but the rest cannot and must

branding, and they both have their own guidelines to follow

stay the color that they are.

when using the patterns. They both incorporate the same colors, but they use a different illustration style. These patterns can be seen on packaging, merchandise, and advertisings. There are many illustrations of plants in the branding and they follow a simplistic style, while adding some personality in each. Some plants will have a face on them as if they are a character and represent how the plant is feeling. The plants without faces are typically used to show the many varieties in plants, like their

PATTERNS

Our primary pattern can be seen throughout the entire brand. It consists of small graphics of leaves, flowers, lines, and organic shapes. When using this pattern, it is always on top of our light green color and they are always at 40% opacity. The colors never change but the pattern can change.

PATTERNS

Our secondary pattern can be used to represent our branding colors and it is also used for some of our merchandise. It consists of six different graphics of leaves and plants and they coincide with a matching color. The colors are never interchanging with each other but the pattern can change.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustrations for ivy are simple and cute, and they stay very close to the branding colors. They are meant to feel very welcoming and exciting. Most of the illustrations are of plants, and we want the illustrations to bring out their unique differences. Some have faces while others do not; a face can be added to any plant with a large enough pot, but it is not typically done.

to look like they can be easy to understand without the need for any text to explain. The five main icons are used to navigate through the app, and they change colors when they are clicked.

APP ICONS

The custom icons for ivy’s mobile applicaton still follow that simple and cute style and they were made

PHOTOGRAPHY 23

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOS

Throughout ivy’s branding, photography is often used in addition to the illustrations. The photography is typically of different types of plants and they are professionally taken photos. There are two types of plant photography that are used for ivy. Photos for the mobile application and photos for the marketing, like advertisements and promotional posts. When using these photos, they should never be in black or white or have any other color changes. The photos for the advertisements are also not made to be in the mobile application, but the photos in the mobile application can be used in other places.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The photos used in our mobile application follow bright and colorful plant photography. The photos have a clean look to them and the plants are all in focus and usually take up the full frame.

away in the frame and plants that are more close up. For the photos used for our web banners, they have more negative space in the background to allow room for text.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The photos used in our advertisements and promotions are a combination of plants that are farther

COPYWRITING 27

CONFIDENT

nature

beneficial

AFFORDABLE HAPPY loyal EDUCATE advanced helpful LOVE cute

unique

convenient

CARING

MEMORABLE

ACCURATE GROWTH FRIENDLY SMART PERSONAL guidance

EASY fun welcoming

TONE OF VOICE

RELAXING reliable

TRUSTED

QUICK

CREATIVITY

PRODUCT 29

PRODUCT

Ivy is a product that incorporates AI technology, which then

for when it comes to connectivity. Once the smart plant sensor

links to their mobile application, to help those who struggle with

is placed into the pot of the plant, it will pick up moisture levels,

keeping their houseplants alive. Bryce knew that there were many

light levels, temperature levels, and its soil fertility. When the plant

people who have killed houseplants, due to not understanding

sensor detects any sort of problem, it will send out a notification

their proper care. Ivy strives to educate and give people that

directly to ivy's app. It also has the option to send out notifications

boost of confidence that they need because taking care of plants

through third-party bluetooth devices. In addition, the sensor will

should not be stressful. Bryce felt like she could relate to them

change colors, going from a crystal white to a pink color to show

because she has killed her fair share of plants as well. There

that the plant needs help. After the plant is properly taken care of,

had to be an easier and clearer way to understand what plants

it will then turn back to its original color.

needed to survive and ivy offers that and more. With ivy's smart plant sensor, it directly detects problems with the plant once it is placed into the pot. It also comes with a USB WiFi hub, which would be plugged into a continous internet source. This makes it easier for the smart plant sensor to send out signals within a larger range, whereas a bluetooth connection is limited

SMART PLANT SENSOR

2 inches

waterproof light sensor solar powered built in LED light each sensor has a four-digit code on

temperature sensor

5 inches

the back for when it gets connected

moisture sensor

to a specific plant

environmentally friendly compatible with bluetooth

LARGE SENSOR

front

back

SMART PLANT SENSOR

THE PRODUCTS The smart plant sensor comes in two sizes so they can be used for small and large plants. Included with the sensor is a USB gateway, which acts as a WiFi hub. This gets plugged into a continuous wireless source, connects with the sensor, and stores data, while also providing a wider range of connection. It can recieve data from up to 20 sensors. When the sensor detects a problem with the plant it is connected to, it will light up to a pink color. Prices range from $10 - $30.

1 inch

3 inches

SMALL SENSOR

lights up

USB WIFI HUB

LIT UP SENSOR

back 32

PACKAGING BOXES: FRONT

PACKAGING BOXES: BACK

PACKAGING KEYLINES

APPLICATION 37

THE APP

Ivy's app is used to monitor the plant's health, but what makes the

their plants all in one spot and keep track of what they have. The

app more useful are the additional features it has. For example,

users are able to add notes and multiple images for each plant

there is a plant identifier, light meter, map of nearby nurseries,

they add to their collection.

along with the ability to purchase seeds. One is able to favorite plants they like from the large data base and log in plants they already own if they choose to add their own plant care schedule. Bryce wanted to make sure that the app worked independently and still be useful without the smart plant sensor.

When one connects with the smart plant sensor, they will receive reminders and push notifications from the sensor through the application. This is where the status of a plants’ health is recorded and one can view specific measurements, for example, how much moisture the soil has. If it is low, it will show that it needs water or

The app can be used for setting reminders for when plants need

if the sensor is picking up that the plant is not getting enough light,

to be taken care of. One can create watering schedules and

the app will show that it needs to receive more sunlight.

keep track of when they completed the task. There is also plant care information provided within the app to help our users better understand what they need to do to keep their plants alive and healthy. There is a section where one can add their plants that they own and log in their information. This allows users to view

THE APP

THE APP ICON

APP ICON The icon design for our mobile app includes the brand’s logo mark on a light green background. It does not include the logotype, this way, the icon is larger and easier to see. It provides a clean and simple app icon and this makes it easier to recognize.

PACKAGING FOR SEEDS

SEEDS Within ivy's app, there is the option to buy packets of seeds through our large data base of plants. If one chooses to purchase seeds, the app will bring up a screen that shows the price and the choice to switch to Amazon, which is where the purchase can be made.

ADVERTISING 45

ADVERTISING

Ivy's marketing goal is to help houseplant owners who struggle

many houseplant Facebook groups on there and it is also the

with keeping their plants alive and to show that this is a common

place where more older people are. TikTok has been a growing

problem, and they are not alone. Taking care of plants should

platform, so advertising on there will gain a lot of attention for the

be easier and not cause people any stress. The target market is

brand. Lastly, YouTube is great for making reviews and providing

mainly for these people, but not limited to them. Ivy markets to

helpful information, so having ivy present on here increase sales

people who are new to owning plants, as well as those who wish

and trust. Bryce wanted posters and in-store marketing since the

to own a plant soon. When it came to ivy's market strategy, Bryce

smart plant sensors would be sold in stores like Home Depot,

wanted to advertise both digitally and traditionally.

Target, Lowes, and Whole Foods, along with local nurseries. The

She knew there had to be a strong social media presence for ivy, specifically on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

advertisements could be seen by many people who may not use social media, which is why it was important to have both.

Instagram is the main outlet because of the many influencers on there. Influencer marketing brings in new customers because the people can post that they use ivy and say how helpful it has been for them and their followers will listen. Facebook is the second most important social media platform for ivy because of the

INSTAGRAM ADS

Ivy’s Instagram ads follow a simple and straight to the point style. The posts can consist of images of the product with short written text in our display font and beautiful photographs of plants.

FACEBOOK AD

Ivy’s Facebook ads also follow a simple and straight to the point style, but it includes a little more written text and provides more information because it is a larger image.

LANDING PAGE

Ivy has a landing page that new customers can visit when they want to learn more about our app and if they want to find out where they can purchase the smart plant sensor.

dying plants. Some can show our smart plant sensor and they all include an interactive button.

WEB BANNERS

Ivy’s web banners use professional photographs of plants and they can be of either healthy plants or

POSTER

Posters for ivy are informational and provide many visuals about our product and how it works.

plant sensor would work when it is in the plant’s pot and connected.

GIF

Ivy’s plant illustrations also come in a form of a gif and their purpose is to briefly show how the smart

DISPLAY BOOTH Ivy creates a brand experience by having a full exhibition set up to help with promotion and marketing. These types of set ups can be seen at trade shows and a smaller version can be seen at stores that are selling the product. Creating an exhibition stand helps facilitate partnerships and they also bring in more potential customers by having the product and service that ivy provides be displayed for people to take a closer look. The display booth represents the branding and design for ivy and it is how potential customers will view the company, so it needs to create a good first impression. Placing multiple plants around the booth creates a welcoming environment and it shows that ivy has something to do with plants right away. It is important to have a large standing banner of the smart plant sensor and its functions because that is what makes ivy unique and it needs to be visible. There is a banner that is full of the brand's illustrations because ivy's brand identity relies heavily on their illustrations. A plant, or multiple plants, are used to show how the smart plant sensor works and this will encourage people to interact with the product and service, this way they can see the whole experience. Ivy is branded as a fun and welcoming company that is here to help people with their houseplants, so the design of the booth had to convey that message.

EXHIBITION

MERCHANDISE 55

MERCHANDISE

Ivy’s business card style is simple yet fun. The front side includes

Our merchandise items include different colored black pens, a

the logo on our primary pattern and the back side is the dark

large variety of stickers, glass mugs, small, glazed ceramic plant

green color. We included a QR code for people to scan and it

pots, and throw pillows. Our merchandise apparel include items

will bring them to our landing page and from there, they can

such as a hoodie, cloth masks, and a canvas tote bag.

download the app. Ivy’s stationery mainly consists of a letterhead, envelope, and a notebook. They match the style of our business cards and include small illustrations and patterns for visual design. The promotional items for ivy include a lot of fun merchandise. When Bryce asked her target audience what their hobbies were, many expressed interests in reading and writing, hiking and spending time outdoors, making crafts, watching movies, and going out with friends. She had to make sure that the merch fit their interests, while also making the items look fun and unique.

BUSINESS CARD

Our business card includes a QR code for one to scan if they want to learn more about ivy. They will be directed to our page and be able to find the nearest location to where our product is being sold.

STATIONERY

MERCHANDISE