human brands for human business.

I help you craft a brand that resonates with your customers so you can focus on what you do best as a founder: grow your business and make an impact on more lives.

Gain clarity in your
brand purpose

build a strong foundation for your brand

Design a brand identity
with personality

Two hang tags on a white background for a children's clothing boutique with a teddy bear logo.

First, let’s look at where you are now.

  • Do you worry that your branding doesn’t match the quality of your product?
  • Do you know that your products are amazing, but you’re afraid to show people because the outside lacks pizzazz?
  • Do you want to position your products or services as a luxury in a commoditized industry?
  • Do you sense that your team is internally confused about your brand’s purpose or “why”?
  • Are you currently using a logo that was thrown together or from a template, but you know you need something more custom to represent where you are as a business?

Branding can be confusing. Maybe you’ve done some brand strategy in-house. Maybe you’re pivoting, or bringing a new product to market.

Whatever it is, I’m here to help bring clarity into your brand through a collaborative process: we dive into your brand goals & mission, your industry landscape, and more; explore visual means of communicating these; and design a brand identity that reflects the essence of your brand.

What is a brand?

This is a whimsical analogy, but I like to think of a brand as a personality for your business. It helps your customers or clients connect with your business on a more human level.

What is branding?

Branding is the process of cultivating a culture that permeates your business; and the subsequent development of visual assets that communicate this to your customers.

so, how does this all work?

A glimpse into what it looks like to work with me on your brand identity.

1

discover & strategize

Beginning with a live workshop, we’re going to build a strong foundation for your brand. Following this I’ll be taking what we uncovered in the workshop, and using it to create a plan for your brand. The result will be a “Brand Map”, which we will use to guide the decisions we make in designing your identity.

In addition, this document will be a companion beyond your launch, as it contains the goals and essence of your brand to guide you as it continues to grow.

2

design & iterate

Once we've established where you’re brand is going, we will move to concepting, exploration, and developing a visual proposal for your new brand identity.

I work iteratively, so instead of presenting multiple complete concepts, we’ll have discussed a design direction in Stage 1, and will now develop one cohesive brand identity, including a responsive logo system, brand fonts, colors, and more.

3

launch & celebrate

The final stage is when I prepare the files for hand off and equip you with information to implement the new brand we’ve developed!

This includes a Brand Bible—which is a combination of your Brand Map, for internal alignment and company culture; and traditional Brand Guidelines, where we’ll pass on the visual torch to your in-house design team!

Then, cue the champagne, and let's celebrate!

Portrait of Margaret Ryland Brand & Logo Designer based in shoreline CT

Welcome, my name is Margaret Ryland.

With a small team of specialists, I help companies create human brands. I am passionate about creating a new economy that reimagines the local communities of yesterday into human-centered brands which unite people through commerce in today's digitally-driven society.

I began my design career in the publishing world as a book designer—after four years, took a sabbatical, moved my entire life to Italy, and spent a year studying the foundations of design, art history, and branding in a design school in the heart of Florence.

In particular, I believe in the power of product-based brands and the Godlike power entrepreneurs have to create “something out of nothing” when we bring something to market!

With a renewed passion for design, I set up my studio to help companies grow through internal alignment and branding to help them clarify their mission and the "Why", and communicate this confidently to their current and future customers!

Are you ready to transform your business?

Schedule my free 30-minute Discovery Call