Julia Simpson

Design notes

From idea to mark

The mark is built in layers, and each layer answers one thing. The story comes first: a lotus that grows in mud and still reaches the light. The rhombus gives that lotus a firm frame to sit in. The script monogram is drawn through the frame, so the mark carries Julia’s initials as well as the symbol. The second mark takes the same ingredients, the lotus, the initials and the botanical detail, and packs them into a rounded frame for tighter spaces.

Two marks, one family

The main mark is the lotus in a rhombus, with the script JS monogram running straight through it. The flourish of the script spills out past the frame on both sides, which keeps the mark from feeling boxed in. The second mark is the contained one: a rounded frame with JS set large, the name written underneath, small botanical sprigs on either side and a lotus at the foot. It is there for the places where the wide flourish will not fit.

Colourways

Both marks come in the same set of versions: dark on light grey, dark on blush, and fine outline versions on charcoal, in white and in blush. That covers light and dark backgrounds without redrawing anything.

Type and colour

Two typefaces share the work. Rottarity Feminine Alternative, a flowing script, is for headlines and short inspirational lines. Audrey, clean and elegant, is for text and information. Blush brings the warmth and charcoal gives it weight. The palette and typography sheets sit alongside the logo board, so the rules for using the identity are all in one place.