This is the story of how the branding of The Honest Jones was created. Much heart, soul & time went into its creation. And it all started with a brief that had a life of its own.

When you get a branding brief questionnaire from Tess Guinery you get asked questions like, "If your logo was a celebrity which celebrity would it be?" and "If your brand was a smell what would it’s scent be?" So your answers start to look a bit wacky...like, "Sofia Coppola" and "smells like freshly baked bread".

Truly a creative after my own heart, Tess takes the process as far away from 'font choice' as you could possibly get.

Some answers were instinctive and random, others made me really delve into the depth of my brand identity. Kind of a confusing place as its still early days for The Honest Jones, but I'm happy to say I emerged with a few abstract concepts that encapsulate a little bit of what my work means.

The first is child-like wonder. I cannot describe this better than an adorable trait that Tess' daughter Peaches Wilde developed when she was learning to talk...a gentle whispered 'wow'. (Surely she learnt this from her mama and papa who see the world for all its possibilities) I described this concept as a "wide-eyed child, innocent and full of adventure and awe and wonder at the world". This child would tell wild tales and play with their food!

The second, and more important, is home-made, slow cooked creativity. I compared my work to homemade jam - full of flavour, made with skilled hands and a process that takes time. This is the course that I have set for my own work. That as I grow in opportunities (and budget) that I will not move away from using my hands in the process. I want to be attached to my work in a real way. Not over-polish or over-edit things, but show the marks of a real person, a craftsman.

There were some other concepts put into the brief..."cheekiness" featured quite heavily! Which all in all made this a kind of humungous task for Tess! I honestly felt like apologising for the vast amount of concepts I was asking her to put into one logo!

But of course she nailed it...and first go!

A week or two later a beautiful bundle of branding came through in an email, and I couldn't have been more in love. Seeing the branding was like falling in love. I literally found my thoughts wondering to it during the day like you would a crush. I had ZERO things I wanted changed.

And then Tess began to describe her rationales of the wholesome 'O' and "left of centre" ...and I don't think my heart could take any more! Tess truly poured so much into this branding and gave The Honest Jones a breath of life. I am so grateful to have her as a "colleague" (closest thing you get to a colleague when you freelance!) and a friend for life!!