Brand Identity, Brand Conception and Strategy, Website Design, Editorial Design & Print Publishing
I built this one for myself, which meant there was no client brief, no safety net, and no one else to blame if it didn't work.
Motherhood & Co. started with a simple observation: Cardiff and South Wales had hundreds of incredible small businesses run by mums, and nowhere near enough support for them. The existing local magazines were brilliant, but they weren't built for this. A small business run by a new mum, selling to other mums, needed a different kind of platform, one where the audience was already her audience. What didn't exist was something that put these businesses directly in front of the people most likely to buy from them: other mums, who were actively looking for exactly what they were selling.
So I built something that did.
The Brand:
The whole identity was built around knowing exactly who it was for and trusting that they'd get it. The script logo, the dusty rose, the editorial typography, It was all working to make someone pick it up and think this is for me. I wanted it to feel like a magazine you'd actually want to keep, not a leaflet you'd shove in the bin.
The Magazine
Five editions, every single one designed by me, cover to cover.
I came up with the content, planned each edition from scratch, designed every layout, shot the photography, and set the type. I sold every ad space, and for most of the editions I designed a lot of the ads too, working with each business to understand what they did and create something that represented them well, while making sure the whole magazine felt like it had been made with the same care on every single page, not just the editorial bits. Over the editions it evolved, the content got richer, the layouts more considered, and the businesses I worked with got something that genuinely showcased them rather than just listed them.
I briefed the printer, specified the paper stock, and chose the matt lamination on the cover because the way something feels in your hands before you've even opened it tells you whether it's worth your time.
The Website and the Markets
I built the website myself too. Directory, event listings, embedded digital editions, all of it.
The markets weren't craft fairs, they were curated small business markets. I chose who was there, designed every piece of print and digital marketing around them, and made sure the whole thing looked and felt like the brand it was supposed to represent.
What I'm the most proud of of isn't the design work around the markets, it's what happened at them. Tiger Yard was the perfect setting for it, this brilliant space in Cardiff Bay that felt a world away from a village hall trestle table setup. The businesses that came weren't just there to sell. They found each other, people who'd been running their businesses alone, mostly behind a screen, suddenly had a room full of people who got it. A lot of them are still in touch, some of them collaborate now. That wasn't something I planned for, it just happened, and it's probably the thing I'm most proud of building.
When messaging, design, and execution work together seamlessly, a brand creates a lasting connection.
If you want to explore how to build that exact foundation for your business, let's chat.