The Strategy

When I first asked Janina what made her different from her competitors, her reply was: “I think I'm a pretty average yoga teacher.” But what I saw from our initial consultation to our strategy workshop was a refreshing approach to her practice. 

She uses very down-to-earth language and even the occasional expletive in her sessions. Instead of trying to present a perfectly curated image of perfect health and well-being, Janina is openly showing her edges and “imperfections” and doesn't take herself too seriously. She's approachable, energetic, empathetic, and simply cool af.

A comprehensive competitor analysis helped us to further understand and confirm how she's not the typical “yoga girl”. I then conducted a series of interviews with her favorite customers to verify the insights we had (needless to say, they adore her) and gain a deeper understanding of her ideal customers’ perspectives. 

Yoga can feel aloof, intimidating, and dogmatically esoteric, but by openly sharing her own "imperfections" and seeing eye to eye with her customers, Janina invites them to come as they are and to embrace their own “flaws”. She creates space to deal both with the positives and negatives in life without judgment or pushing for perfection. She doesn't promise yoga and pilates are the cure for all problems, but they create more resilience and ease to meet challenges head-on. 

Her personality, her willingness to show her edges, and her down-to-earth nature became the cornerstones of her brand strategy.

The Brand Design

Initially, Janina had the typical “yoga look” in mind for the design: lots of light neutral colors and lots of loose flowy illustrations. But after uncovering that she's not the average yoga teacher, we translated that into the design.

Instead, we opted for a visual identity that is dynamic and full of contrasts, just like Janina herself. The color palette combines energetic bold colors with soothing, calming tones. This not only makes for an unusual and cool look but also allows Janina to actively shape the mood through colors. For more dynamic activating sessions she can utilize the vibrant colors for relaxing sessions the muted ones.

The custom brand illustration is inspired by the shape of an hourglass. The passage of time symbolizes change and transformation, which is a key concept in yoga and pilates. What inspired me in particular was the space between the two chambers of an hourglass. This space in between in which the sand flows from one chamber into the other represents the now. I found that this reflects Janina's philosophy so well: To live in the here and now and create these spaces in everyday life where you can just be.

This deeper meaning isn't obvious at first glance, but it's something to be uncovered layer by layer through interacting with Janina, her brand, and her philosophy.

The Brand in Use

Versatility is important when creating a brand identity. I presented Janina with many ideas on how to utilize the design for every stage of her business. From business cards to workbooks, to branded yoga mats—the sky's the limit. 

Janina is no stranger to using design software, so she has taken the design assets and use case ideas I presented to her to create branded newsletters, workbooks, and her social media graphics.