Ashley Clifton is an Arkansas-based wellness practitioner who provides a variety of holistic modalities for clients around the world. Since 2013, she has facilitated safe and inclusive spaces for clients to find healing through services including Reiki, oracle readings, massage therapy, and so much more.
Gain exposure and boost sales.
In order to promote awareness, and maintain consistency, an identity system & brand guidelines were created.
Tarot card services saw an increase of 60% in sign-ups compared to the previous year.
Tote bag
Business cards
Merch
Ashley had been in business for 5 years, and built a decent clientele. Business was good, but she wanted to grow. She watched as people in similar industries and verticals thrived online. “How in the world could a Reiki practitioner have 20K followers?” she wondered as she scrolled Instagram.
Social media was her loudspeaker. Sharing her story brought in the eyes that scheduled appointments and purchased products. Inspired by the online marketing of her peers, she realized she needed an identity. She took to Canva and PicMonkey.
A few of Ashley’s previous identities
Overwhelmed, she found herself constantly switching things up. A total of 7 “logos” over the span of a few years, as well as fonts, colors and graphics. Scattered in her attempts, she still didn’t have a unified visual language that clients and customers could identify. It was all wasted time that could have been funneled into other aspects of the company.
Her lack of branding was hurting her. If she was going to accomplish her goals of scaling up, she needed to achieve clarity. She needed to communicate professionalism. She needed to build trust.
Before creating anything, I like to gather as much information as possible. Learning about her business, figuring out her core values, and getting to know her audience helped me create an identity that embodied her brand. Starting with the logo, my intention was to create an iconic mark that would serve as the umbrella for all her services to fall under.
Preliminary sketches
The thinking behind the logo was to highlight Ashley. She is the face of her business. Her company is her name. I thought a monogram would perfectly convey that personal touch.
I struggled in making the logo simple, while still maintaining legibility. The play on negative and positive space adds just enough quirk to make it memorable. You can’t help but look a little longer.
Turquoise has healing properties that affects the body and mind. It is associated with intuition, wisdom, and tranquility. The color communicates her brand attributes effectively, while helping her stand out from the blues and greens often used in her industry. Branding is the art of differentiation.
Thought process behind the monogram
Subtle changes to font created a customized wordmark
Guidelines to help maintain the quality and integrity of her brand
Having a solid brand identity has been a game changer for Ashley. The biggest change she has noticed is from within. Where once she cheapened her offerings with low prices and constant sales, she now feels empowered by branding that is polished, professional, and solidifies her price points.
Brand awareness spiked, and she saw holistic services gain more interest. Tarot card services saw an increase of 60% in sign-ups, compared to the previous year, with only 18% being returning clients. She attributes this huge growth to her brand identity.
“Never before have I felt more solid as a business person, and I owe every tiny bit of that feeling and sense of authenticity to Kervin.”
-Ashley Clifton
Watch the design process behind the AC monogram
