In 2021 with my good friend Sam, we set up HandsOn, a company that designs and builds playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, gardens, studios (and more!) all over the UK. We also provide opportunities for teams to get involved in our projects to build something tangible for their local communities and people.

Though it seems obvious now, the hardest part of branding the company was the name. For weeks, I explored different options that would encompass all our plans for the business. Books like ‘Don’t Call It That’ by Eli Altman helped my try though processes in coming up with names. HandsOn popped into my brain one evening and I felt we had finally found the name!

The following weeks then focused on building out the name and the visual identity of the brand. Registering the business under the name Get HandsOn helped kick-start the brand voice and the tone in which we wanted to present the business to our audience.

Developing the full branding package with colours, icons, animated logos and other assets has been used across the entire business since we began this adventure… from our instantly recognisable teal-coloured vans and trucks, to our branded bunting (handmade by Sam’s mum Sally), to our clothes and project plaques we put on all our completed builds!