Kate the Rockstar Gardener. We are thrilled to have won the Rocketspark Award for Client Impact for Kate the Gardener's rockstar website - with a business that has grown 500% in 12 months we are so proud to have brought your vision to life online.
The brief
Kate is a gorgeous person and a joy to work with. Her glowing testimonials are proof as is spending even one minute with her. The best line in her brief to me - apart from the whole idea of creating a Rockstar Gardener brand (yes please! So fun!!) was when she said she just wanted to make sure the logo would look good on a big black truck. That is a brief people!
Mood boards
We always start with a mood board to get on the same page and to get inspired. For Kate's brand we chose lush tropicals, dark greens and pinks, with a bit of rock chick black and attitude.
Logo and business card
It's always a great feeling when you hit the logo right straight away. Doesn't always happen, I'll be honest. But this time the final design was a mix of the two favourites from the original drafts - taking the text/font from one and the frame from another. Yay! We designed both Kate's logo and business cards, setting the tone for her brand to reflect both her personal style and her business. So here's what we created:
FINAL LOGO
Photography
We LOVE working with great images. We were lucky enough to have our superstar photographer Emily on board for this shoot and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. Kate was a great sport (it's not easy being in a public setting and casually taking important branding photos!) but Emily is just the loveliest person to work with and to make you feel at ease and enjoy the process and I know the pictures show that. And how about those colours?! See how Kate's scarf was just made for those rows of flowers behind her?! We could not have planned that better if we tried! Profile photos are key for personal brands and reflecting who you are and your business - the more you can build trust by showing who you are to potential clients, the more likely it is that it is you they will call on when they need someone with your services.
Website
We designed Kate's beautiful new website in a modern wide-screen format that responds to any screen width and size (it's fully responsive) and is importantly mobile friendly.
Social Media Presence
We created several banners for her Facebook business page, to create a cohesive look for her business along with her website. She has started an Instagram and continues to post with images that are on brand and true to what the KTG team do best.
Kate's blog
We created a specially designed template to showcase Kate's blogs in a more visually impactful way. A huge part of what Kate's business does is VISUAL (garden makeovers and incredible landscape design) so this made sense for her brand!
Facebook banners
Award banners
Soon after the website went live Kate was nominated for a couple of David Awards. We helped to put together her application with extra images and graphics... She won! Kate the Gardener was WINNER of 'The Most Outstanding Lifestyle Business' and finalist for 'The Bizbuzz Most Community-Minded Business' awards at the 2017 David Awards.
KTG Team Shots
Kate's team has grown over the past 2 months since her new website went live. So some updated photos with her whole team were in order! And the KTG t-shirts they now work in.
Style guide
The works!
Client feedback
"Kate The Gardener has experienced rapid growth since it’s small beginnings 2 years ago, and I truely believe Repeatable has had a huge part to play in this success.
I always knew the essence of the brand I wanted to create but it was Shayna and Aaron who were able to create the vision that was in my head and turn this into a website that encapsulated the message and vibe I wanted my audience to receive - a fresh, authentic approach to garden care and design.
From the moment the website launched, I have had nothing but positive feedback about both how it stands out in the market and how easy it is to navigate. I think that is the true mark of awesome designers - making the complex appear simple so there is no barrier to customer engagement.
Because I like to spend my time with my team and clients, the others aspects of building a brand - blogs, social media, team profiling etc tend to take a back foot. Having a team like Repeatable who make these aspects seem so simple and are able to integrate them to seamlessly into by website etc is gold for me. They are able to articulate and make real what I see in my head and then I get to focus on what I do best - growing the business!
Shayna has also been amazing in terms of capturing my team from a photography perspective - she is so friendly and relaxed and her professionalism mixed with enthusiasm and authenticity made my crew shine in front of the camera and the result is a team profile page that clients can’t wait to engage with.
Aaron takes my technical confusion and simplifies this like a true magician - I think for me it comes back to the ability to take the complication I have in my head, communicate that to someone and know that they will solve the problem without making the issue more complex than it needs to be.
KTG as a company has experienced 500% growth in our turnover in the last 12 months. We are now starting to think about creating subdivisions - dividing our work into garden care and design. Again the Repeatable Crew have come up with a really simple and effective solution to segment these clients at the front end when they send an enquiry meaning I can allocate requests to the relevant teams to follow up on. These simple efficiencies make all the difference during a growth phase!
Growing numbers for the sake of it is never my focus - I want to ensure that anyone who for example follows us on Facebook, likes our Instagram page etc does so because of a genuine connection with the brand. Most are really like our ambassadors, recommending us far and wide and we feel so thrilled to have this type of support. I feel that Shayna and Aaron understand and support this approach because it aligns with the Brand Authenticity and connection that drives me every day.
The approach with ‘Kate’ as a figurehead of the Brand was not a decision made lightly but encouragement from Shayna I can see how putting myself out there and fronting the Brand has really been key to that authentic client connection. I have such respect for the way Shayna and Aaron worked to create a brand and vision that allowed this to happen while creating a real sense of ‘team' behind Kate the Gardener.
In our ‘slowest months’ we are still experiencing month on month growth and are averaging around 30 new enquiries per week with no paid advertising. I have always believed that a brand should stand or fall on the quality of what it offers the market and for me, word of mouth is the key illustration that we are on the right track. But for Word of Mouth to turn a contact into a client relationship requires a great first impression and so it all goes back to the website, our branding and our ability to connect with the client before we even meet them. Again, I have Repeatable to thank for the cohesiveness of our Brand and how it stands out in the market.
I feel so thrilled to work with such a talented team. They are part of the KTG family and have been an intrinsic part of growing my company from the early days of Kate (and a spade) less than 2 years ago, through to a multi award winning company with x10 contractors and a view to double our growth within the next 12 months."
Kate
