With the aim to connect to the gardening community – as well as and both younger and older generations – with the joys of growing their own, They That Do set out on a new identity for the brand that is multilayered and full of vibrancy, a visual ode to “the multitude of colours and plots of land found in allotments or your garden”. Vincent tells us that the project started out at the British Library where he “[dug] through turn of the century botanical manuals” and perused “vintage print ads from the early 1900s of hand illustrated posters and prints”. Seeing a parallel between these war time visuals and pandemic turmoil, Vincent decided to hark back to the past. “This then went on to going back further to late 1800s style etchings and original wood carvings and then onto the type found on 1930s letterpressed seed packets and 60s Japanese seed packet illustrations found in an antiques shop,” he says.
From this eclectic visual catalogue They That Do created a brand playbook for Gemma with the help of photographer Thomas Minnock, one that clashes warm nostalgic imagery with bold graphic backdrops and intricate vintage illustrations. The studio’s intention with the design of the identity was to create a simple colour system in which new textures and imagery could be layered with or added to over time, leaving room for the brand to grow.
It wasn’t just the imagery that drew from seed print ephemera and botanical diagrams though, as Vincent explains: “We wanted a typeface selection that harked back to the clash of faces found on vintage 30s letterpress seed packets yet were modern cuts so held their own in today’s world”. Landing on Coconat and Messapia Bold from Collletttivo Foundry, GT Walsheim from Grillitype and an adaptation of Albra Book Regular from Ultra Kuhl Foundry for their main word marque, the studio used a palette of type to overlay their wide ranging visuals. A lovely final touch is their animated word mark made to make Seedfolk feel as if it is growing out of the ground.
