Steppe Landscapes
Creative Brief Participants
Lynda and David — August 2023
Overview
What would you like us to do for you? What is the purpose and scope of the project (heighten credibility, expand services, sell 2000 widgets, etc.)?
Lynda is a landscape designer. She consults, designs, and installs landscapes. She has a good network of people she works with.
She likes to work with native plants as much as possible. She also prefers low-water, bird-friendly, and butterfly-friendly landscapes. Her clients often save a significant amount on water.
Lynda feels we understand what she is trying to do with her new business and that we have the experience to assist her with clear communication with potential clients.
Lynda would like us to distill in imagery the services she wants to offer. We should show an image that gives a sense of who she is and what type of experience customers can expect. Lynda does not do formal landscapes with boxwoods and such. Her logo and identity should suggest her offering.
Lynda feels that we must package her mission, experience, and passion into an identifiable image.
Her mission is to provide landscape design services to people interested in creating a more eco-centered landscape or outdoor space for themselves. Lynda can help them get started. She does a two-hour consult, and services expand from there.
Adding an interest form to the website might be friendly with questions like these: Do you want to go to the nursery? How much maintenance do you want to do yourself? Do you want to take care of your yard? Or do you want me to do more? Am I giving you the tools so you can DIY? Or am I providing a complete service, including design, plant list, installation, and irrigation?
Lynda does not do hardscape design, but she can refer clients.
Lynda recommends native plantings and plants from similar regions. She also guides clients toward other plants suitable for our area, even if they may not be native. Lynda specializes in low-water, bird-and-butterfly-friendly ecological garden design. And, She will show clients how to succeed without added chemicals.
Lynda is proud to say that the gardens she designs will feed birds, insects, and humans.
Definition of success: Lynda hopes to be proud enough of her logo to get a tattoo.
Projects include
Steppe Landscapes Branding
Identity: Business paper designs will include business card, letterhead, envelope, note card, and note card envelope.
Yard Sign
Eventually Steppe Landscapes may need a website
Creative Considerations
What limitations or constraints do you have (budget, schedule, size, paper, etc.)? What elements or colors, or other personal preferences must be represented in this project? Where will additional materials that we do not create come from? (writing/photography/illustration etc.) What are examples of projects of this type you have seen that you think are effective? Can you please share some samples?
Lynda’s aesthetic is not the hippie aesthetic. Her aesthetic is more clean and modern. She particularly likes the intersection of flora/fauna and art. The logo should include flora and fauna. We should feature a combination of plants, birds, and bees (or other insects). The logo should not include water.
Lynda loves green and is not a huge fan of purple. We can use a wee bit of purple, but purple should not be the feature color.
Lynda will create any copy we need.
Linda has collected a few images of logos and plant illustrations she likes. She also provided a few examples of favorite northwest plants including the Ericameria Nauseosa (Rubber Rabbitbrush).
Product Description
What are the products or services your business provides? What is the product or service that you want to promote? What are its features? How much does it cost? What is it made of, and how is it used? What makes it different, unusual, or unique?
Lynda’s essential skill is abundant plant knowledge combined with an artistic background. She knows design and the practical aspects needed for plant success. She sources plants with nurseries that have high-quality plants. Plus, Lynda also understands the offerings of native nurseries and seed companies.
Cost: $250 for initial consultation. Then, services will be $50 an hour. The creative team suggests that Lynda may be undervaluing her services and that she should charge significantly more.
Lynda has a unique skill set. She has farming experience, restoration experience, and 20 years of experience working with local plants that cooperate (and some that don’t).
Lynda understands:
Plants that are on the weeds list.
Wildlife suitable plants.
Creek planting rules.
Regulation and permitting details.
Soil testing needed at old houses.
Lynda is also thinking about future climate trends.
Competition
What makes your business special among similar businesses? What's your value proposition? Who is your present competition? Who would you like to be competing with? What similar products or services are currently available, and how good are they?
A few competitors are around, but none are focused on the same niche as Lynda.
There is a food garden lady from California, and another Californian is trying to start a nursery. The Richland Nursery does some design work in walla walla, but their designer, Ann, knows plants better than design, and she’s damn busy.
Target Audience & Market Realities
Who is your current primary audience (gender, age, socioeconomics, employment, geographics)? How much do they know about the product? What are their attitudes toward products or businesses like yours? What motivates them? Who do you want your audience to be?
Customers are generally interested in a lovely landscape that is more than beautiful. They want to pay more to be ecologically aware in their landscape choices. They have enough money. Usually, landscape choices are a joint decision. My clients might skew a little older, but younger people are interested.
My clients generally don’t know much about native plants and landscaping. They know native plants would be less maintenance and suitable for pollinators, but could not identify plants. Generally, my clients wouldn’t know where to put native plants or how much water to give them.
I hope to avoid clients who change their minds every 20 minutes. Folks who redesign the design are hard to work with.
My ideal client is somebody who knows just enough, so I wouldn’t have to sell them on the why. But not enough confidence to take it on themselves
Most Important Point (MIP)
What are the top three (or more) ranked benefits of your product or service? If you could choose only one thing the audience remembers from your advertising, what would it be?
A landscape from Steppe Landscapes offers:
Low maintenance.
Low water use.
Improved habitat.
A beautiful space.
An artistic space.
Enhanced outdoor living.
Climate resilience.
Confidence in plant choices.
A reasonable budget. Work with a variety of budgets.
MIP: The big draw is low maintenance, low water, and improved habitat. Beauty and function intersect here.
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