Business Smart branding, by Colourful

Consultancy Colourful has created the name and branding for a new business toolkit for childminders.

Business Smart has been launched by the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) as a free online tool for those who want to set up and maintain childcare businesses.

The visual identity aims to be “accessible and relevant to childminders”, says Colourful, through the use of nine pictograms indicating the different topics in the toolkit.

A yellow, purple, pink, blue and green colour palette has been adopted across the visual identity, mirroring the PACEY logo, while a grey and pink lowercase, serif typeface was used for the Business Smart logo itself.

“We created a simple, smart typographic logo using the PACEY grey to set the business tone,” says Phillip Southgate, creative lead at Colourful. “The design combines colourful iconography with greyscale photography to add a human touch. The scheme provides a distinctive theme throughout the toolkit and a recognisable visual language.”

Business Smart was developed in association with Lloyds Bank, and funding was provided by the Department for Education.

The new look has rolled out across online platforms and print materials. An in-house team at PACEY produced the website.