Brand Identity and Website

Integrated Turf Management Systems, Inc. is a green lawn and plant care service company that uses all natural, organic proprietary products. They had suffered from an under-achieving identity and website, and after consulting with me in 2012, hired me to re-brand their company, designing a new logo and identity, stationery, vehicle graphics, and website.

From the initial consultation, it was evident that this was a special company with a positive mission. They needed a meaningful, iconic logo and identity system that communicated the values of the brand, created recognition amongst their audience, and elevated them from their competition. This transformation was valuable, and elevated them from a Mom & Pop to a corporate entity.

Design Process + deliverables:
Discovery
Hand drawn thumbnails
Digital thumbnails
Final logos
Stationery: b-cards, envelopes, folders
Marketing materials, rackcards
Vehicle/tanker graphics
Website design and development

Discovery:

At the beginning of the branding process, we discovered who ITMS was, what makes them unique and competitive, and who their audience was. ITMS provides superior lawn and plant care service that uses 100% natural, organic proprietary products. By evaluating a customer’s property, and providing a custom tailored plan, they create an ecologically balanced environment in your backyard. Through these lawn and plant treatments, ITMS is helping the environment – one yard at a time. Their competitors are TruGreen, Lawn Doctor and Weedman.

The new ITMS brand identity was inspired by the phrase “Green Plants, Blue Water” which is a cause and effect statement that became the voice of their brand. Essentially, through the use of ITMS’s services, you will help to create a greener environment (figuratively and literally) which in turn creates a healthier Earth.

We kicked off the discovery phase with several brainstorm sessions, where I was able to meet with the owners and employees of the company. It was painfully apparent that ITMS suffered from an amateurish aesthetic. Their look used a confusing, dated logo that was used inconsistently on materials. It had been created by the owner years prior and previous thought to have been “good enough.” It was unprofessional at best, and certainly did not communicate the value and benefits of their services.

Logo thumbnails:

After the initial discovery phase, we set to sketching thumbnails and creating digital comps. We had already defined our color palette of green and blue, providing a natural, organic aesthetic. We also knew that we needed an iconic logomark, that could be used in conjunction with the logotype “ITMS” or the full name “Integrated Turf Management Systems.” I aimed to create a versatile brand identity that could be used in a variety of applications, while maintaining consistency of communication and appearance.

Our early comps included abstract representations of green landscapes and plants, blue water and sky. Upon presenting these preliminary logo comps, and several others, it was clear that the third option was the strongest, communicated our message appropriately, and would present ITMS in a high-end way, which was a huge improvement from the old logo.

After refining this mark, looking at multiple color shades and typography options, and creating comped-up marketing collateral – we had our logo. Following the design of the logo, we went to work on crafting the full identity including logo lockups for various applications. When the identity was complete, we created the style guide, stationery, marketing collateral, vehicle graphics, signage, apparel and website. Each piece was carefully crafted using the new identity and style guide, and resulted in the overall corporate image.

In Summary:

ITMS elevated their game from local service provider to tri-state contractor, securing larger maintenance contracts and selling proprietary formulated organic pesticides. This project was a good example of a drastic shift in before and after, and how through understanding a company’s values and mission, you can shape their aesthetic and create a corporate identity.