ABOUT

Do I have kids? No.
Do I like kids? In moderation.
Do I know how parents think? Not even my own.

So when The Private Day Nursery invited me to build their brand & help fill 60 available places – I was bewildered, yet thrilled of the challenge.

I did my homework and turned to my consultants (my nephews), for inspiration. They ignored me and continued to watch cartoons. Best consultancy I could get. I learned that characters with stories were the key to engaging the little ones.

I created a 2D illustration style and added a block print texture to create a sense of playfulness. I rounded the identity off with a scene to bring the brand to life and introduce new guest characters. Then rolled it out across various touchpoints, including stationery, uniforms, signage and online media.

The logo was a secondary brand asset, designed to sit alongside the characters. The quirky bubble typeface added to the fun nature we were aiming for.

For any nursery, a prospectus is the first real chance to win over the hearts and minds of doting parents, or at least gaining favour over other nurseries and prompting further interest.

I created a classic story-like narrative, with all the characters interacting. It was printed on a textured pulp board to match the block print design style and had clear press stud binding for a craft project look and feel. The language was fun, yet the messaging was professional. The idea of doing something childlike was to show parents, that we understood their children’s needs in an important stage of their development.

The rest of the promotion followed suit…and we did a lot of it.

Did it work?

Better than we forecasted. We filled 39 places inside 6 months of opening. At this point, we had a growing waiting list of parents building. The response was so positive, it caught the nursery off guard and accelerated plans to renovate the 2nd floor, creating 21 more places.

Website search optimisation resulted in page 1, number 3 for 'Day Nursery Cheshire' and page 1, number 1 for 'Day Nursery Northwich'.

The nursery reached monthly breakeven 5 months ahead of the business plan projection, allowing for more investment in staff training.