Full Circle Massage: A Case Study
Brief / Launch a brand complete with logo and professional head shot for local massage therapist.
Client / Julie Dippel; Full Circle Massage
Deliverables / Logo & Head Shot
Julie Dippel launched her massage career in 2016 and quickly learned that her skills would be better suited in an office closer to home where she can have more control over how she provides the best service to her clients.
THE CHALLENGE: Julie, up until this point, had worked primarily in factory and industrial jobs and wanted to portray in her logo how she emerged from that world to a more holistic field.
Key words to consider:
- Earthy
- Round
- Natural
Other Considerations:
- Combine natural with industrial
Full Circle Massage was to open in the small rural town of Kiel, WI. When designing this logo, appealing to small-town residents of varying views, backgrounds, and middle-class income was the key.
On the other hand… Julie is well versed in modalities outside of massage that are often misunderstood or unknown by some. This included Reiki (Japanese energy work), Craniosacral Massage, and Foot Reflexology.
The color palette was an easy one to decide on. Julie was inspired by the “minty green” color the massage office in her home had been painted. Additionally, we had both agreed that keeping green in the color palette would invoke a feeling of calm and relaxation, while the grey was a nod to the industrial jobs she had left behind.
Right from the start, I had envisioned using a plant of some sort in the logo… A tree? A lotus? The creative process took over from here…
I knew the typography for this logo had to be more natural looking. Serifs would be too stiff, sans serifs too mechanical. However, I see too many script or handwritten fonts that don’t translate well into a professional looking looking logo. The typeface shown here, Jakob, seemed to fit the bill of being easy to read, but natural and casual enough to match the feel we were aiming for from the start.
I became inspired by the idea of creating a tree that looked like the letter “F” as seen in the two options to the left, which was very well received.
After presenting these options, Julie was torn between the two aforementioned “F” logos. When she was unable to decide between the two, she did was many of us do… Ask her friend on social media!
This design received the most engagement. However, there were concerns about the readability of its original format. Here’s a breakdown of what adjustments were made:
- Tree branches and roots were shortened in order to simplify the design.
- Area between two branches was straightened in order to better articulate the shape of the letter F.
- Different, though similar font was chosen. Type was given heavier weight to match the weight of the tree trunk. M was lowered.
- More circles/leaves were added to balance out the overall weight of the logo.
Julie’s photo shoot took place in a setting with several natural wood buildings on site, adding to the natural and earthy feel of the Full Circle Massage brand.
Today, you can see the sign along highway 32 near the Millhome Supper Club outside of Kiel, WI, where Julie’s massage practice continues to grow and become a trusted name in Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Calumet Counties.
