This is Kotyra's finished job in the shape every client gets: the same tabs, filled in as the work happens. Yours opens with a password, for you and me only.
Progress
01
Brief received
What the business does, who buys, where it is heading, and what exists: a script logo with a house, a leaf and a trowel, and nothing behind it.
02
Paid, strategy booked
Payment in full books the strategy call.
03
Discovery
The business, the people, the market, the direction, and the brand that exists.
04
Strategy sheet
Five values, the enemy (wasteful complexity), three customers written as people, and a made-up word for the in-between: Gardenscapes.
05
From values to shapes
Each value became a word, and each word the things it brings to mind. References collected, stylescapes built, the category's leaf ruled out.
06
The symbol
A flower and a sunrise make the rays; grassy hills and a handshake make the base. Drawn in outline three times, tested down to favicon size, then coloured.
07
The wordmark
The name set about thirty times beside the symbol. Sofia Sans Bold in capitals won.
08
Colours and type
Seven colours named for the country, a 60/30/10 rule for laying out a page, Merriweather for body copy.
09
Lockups and the one-colour set
Eight lockups, then green, orange, gold and black in outline and solid, and reversed out of a photograph.
10
The competitor test
The mark set unnamed among sixteen competitors' logos. Ten people asked to pick one; seven picked Kotyra.
11
Presented
The deck, then Alfredo's notes: he loved the concept and asked for one green and something more serious.
12
Revisions
The two-green version: hands and hills in the darker green, the sun in the lighter, the wordmark the same way.
13
Brand handover
Every lockup in SVG and PNG, the brand deck, and guidelines written for his own AI tools.
14
Page plan
The home page, the services, Alfredo's story, and a blog he posts to himself. Landing pages studied first: where a testimonial does its work, how a page leads with the benefit, how it asks for one action.
15
Copy
Names the reader, lists the fifteen services by name, and rewrites the four values as promises: partnership, practicality, reliability, sustainability.
16
Design and build
Built on the system. It opens on a photo of his own work, a set of Merbau decking steps.
17
Launch and handover
Live at kotyra.com.au. Alfredo posts to the blog himself.
Brief
What do you want?
Brand identity, then the website.
What does the business do?
Gardening and garden maintenance for 165-plus clients, moving into landscaping.
Where do you work?
Melbourne.
Who buys from you now?
165-plus clients.
Who do you want buying from you in three years?
Corporate landscaping and garden maintenance: operations managers, small business owners and grounds managers.
What do you have?
A script logo with a house, a leaf and a trowel. No colours, no typeface, no rules for where anything goes.
What is wrong with it, and why fix it now?
The business is moving from gardening towards landscaping, and the brand has to carry it there.
Competitors
Sixteen local gardening and landscaping businesses, most of them green and leafy.
Which pages do you need?
Home, the services, Alfredo's story, a blog.
Photos of your work
Plenty. His own job photos.
Example, written from the finished job. Alfredo did not fill in this form; on your page your own words sit here.
Strategy
Strategy came first, and everything after it is measured against these.
Values
Building meaningful connections.
Optimism and action.
Integrity and accountability.
Fairness and appreciation.
Confidence through quality.
The enemy
Kotyra's enemy is wasteful complexity: unnecessary costs, slow processes, and landscaping that is sold as flashy when the client needs it to work. The stance that follows: simple and reliable, and never flashy.
The customer, as people
OliviaOperations manager
Runs the day to day for a medium-sized business and looks after the outside contractors. Short on time, wants accountability, and needs quality and cost to balance.
SteveSmall business owner
Wears every hat and treats the grounds as a side concern. Fears overpaying, and wants honest guidance and a partner who makes the decision simple.
KarenGrounds manager
Keeps a large property looking right through several contractors. Wants consistency, reliable service, lower long-term costs and as little oversight as possible.
Past, present, future
Gardeningpast
Gardenscapingpresent
Landscapingfuture
From values to shapes
ValuesIn a wordSymbols
Building meaningful connectionsCommunityHands, people, togetherness
Optimism and actionPositivitySun, yellow, bright, upward
Integrity and accountabilityReliableSolid shapes and colours
Fairness and appreciationBalancedVisual balance
Confidence through qualityConsistentBold lines, medium and bold type
Identity
OldNew
How the pairs add upThe small test
The wordmark, set and tested
KOTYRARoboto Condensed Medium
KOTYRANoto Sans SemiBold
KOTYRAOverpass SemiBold
KOTYRAInter Semi Bold
KOTYRAAsap SemiBold
KOTYRAHanken Grotesk SemiBold
KOTYRASofia Sans Condensed SemiBold
KOTYRAPrompt SemiBold
KOTYRAWork Sans SemiBold
KOTYRAPathway Extreme SemiBold
KOTYRASofia Sans BoldChosen
Colours
Gumleaf Green#1E7844A fresh green drawn from eucalyptus leaves. Optimism and action.In the logo
Sunset Rust#DE6126A vibrant orange from an Australian sunset. Positivity and fairness.In the logo
Wattle Gold#F7960FA golden yellow from the Golden Wattle. Building meaningful connections.In the logo
Coastal Sand#F7F4EFA soft, neutral tone of the sand. Simplicity and fairness.In the logo
Bushland Green#155530A deep, earthy green from the bushland. Integrity and reliability.
Outback Ochre#B8440EA warm, rich tone of outback soil. Confidence through quality.
Desert Glow#FDBA5DA muted, sun-warmed yellow-orange from the desert. Optimism and action.
60
30
10
Type
Sofia Sans Bold for the wordmark, titles and headers. Merriweather Regular for body copy. Both are free on Google Fonts, so anything made later costs nothing to set correctly.
Sofia Sans Bold, for the wordmark, titles and headers
Eight lockupsThe one-colour setThe colour version presented, and the two-green version Alfredo choseOn the poloOn the ute
Website
It opens on a photo of his own work and names the reader. Fifteen services listed by name, the values rewritten as promises, Alfredo's story, and a blog he posts to himself.
