Case study 03 of 06

A garden centre that didn’t need a new logo.

Client: Almondsbury Garden Centre, near Bristol
Year: Rebrand 2021; Florum 2023; seasonal work ongoing
My role: Design lead: positioning, brand system, environmental graphics, wayfinding; Florum brand
Team: Creative director; client services; two designers working with me
Disciplines: Brand strategy, identity system, signage and wayfinding, retail environment, sub-brand, print

The Almondsbury A in a white circle over a field of spring primroses. — The A, dressed for spring.

The brief

Almondsbury wanted to feel more premium and be easier to shop.

The site had grown over the years, and so had its signs, offers and notices.

The centre

The brand didn’t need replacing. The red A and the colours were already known locally. What was missing was a rule for using them. So the rebrand kept the mark and the colours, and gave everything a single principle: simply. Simply seasonal. Simply signposted. Simply a better shop. It is a way of working, not a strapline. As the positioning put it: We are Almondsbury. Simply that.

The idea

One fixed structure, dressed by the seasons. The shop front, signs and print share the same frame, built from the curve of the A. The content changes from primroses in spring to timber in summer, autumn leaves and then Christmas.

Customers see a garden centre that changes with the year, and staff get a system they can run without starting again each season.

Four drawings of the Almondsbury shop front, dressed for spring, summer, autumn and Christmas. — One shop front, four seasons. Built as shown, apart from the apex panels, which were cut on cost.

Positioning page: Simply seasonal. Simply said and simply sold. Simply signposted. We are Almondsbury. Simply that. — The positioning, in the brand’s own words.

Colour and graphic principles: a circle in charcoal, white and red, and the curve of the A cut into quarters. — The radius of the A, from a full circle down to a quarter.

Three decisions

Keep the mark, add the rules.

I set out how the existing colours relate to each other and built a graphic language from the radius of the A, from a full circle down to a quarter. It’s new without being unfamiliar.

Circular red department icons: shop, plants, compost, delivery, restaurant, Christmas. — Department icons, built from the circle.

Catalogue spread: Simply Spring Offers. — The same system in print.

A sign built to age.

The Show Stopper A is clear acrylic with a white A, set in a metal hoop that gathers patina over time. Its seasonal graphic panel swaps out behind. Natural materials suit a garden centre better than gloss.

Exploded view of the Show Stopper A: clear acrylic, metal hoop, seasonal floral graphic and timber backing board. — Four layers: acrylic A, metal hoop, seasonal graphic, timber back.

Signs that answer a question.

The compost and aggregates yard became a Drive-Thru, Simply less back ache, with four steps from driving in to paying. The pay point went from a handwritten notice to a proper post. Plants are signed by what customers need to know: sun, shade and soil type.

Drive-Thru totems in the yard, with mix-and-match pricing for bagged aggregates. — Drive-Thru totems on site.

Before and after: a handwritten “Please pay here” notice beside a new timber Pay Here post. — The pay point, before and after.

The Drive-Thru fascia on the timber yard building, with a customer loading compost. — Drive-Thru, built.

Hanging aisle signs inside the garden centre. — Aisle wayfinding inside.

Two mix-and-match sales boards on timber posts: Miracle-Gro compost 3 for £15 and Flamingo aggregates 2 for £15. — Sales boards in the same frame.

Plant pictograms for shade lovers, sun lovers and soil types. — Plants signed by what they need.

Two Florum staff smiling behind the café counter in branded aprons. — Florum, open. The café brand inside the garden centre, 2023.

The Florum mark, embroidered for staff aprons.

Who did what

I led the design of the positioning, brand system, shop front, Drive-Thru and wayfinding, directing two designers, with the creative director and client services alongside.

Two years later came Florum, the café inside the garden centre. The name came from another designer in a round of concepts. Once it was chosen, I broadened it into the brand: a blossom mark, Cooking Apple Green and Charcoal, menus, ordering signs and staff aprons.

What happened next

The system was built. A TV planter sign stayed a concept. Florum opened in 2023 with its own identity, and Almondsbury is still a client. I’ve designed their Christmas windows since. The latest wraps the whole shop front as a present.