At a Glance
Client: O&M
Sector: Business Consultancy • Systems & Processes • Organisational Improvement
Services: Discovery • Naming • Brand Strategy • Visual Identity • Brand Guidelines
Project Goal: Create a distinctive brand that communicates the business’s methodical approach to solving complex organisational problems.
The Challenge
The project began with a naming problem.
The business was originally called Copper Fern, but another similar business was already using the name. So, we went back to the business itself. What does it actually do? And, more importantly, what makes its approach different? That question became the starting point for the entire rebrand.
The Discovery
The Discovery Process revealed a business with a highly methodical approach to solving complex problems.
It gathers the evidence, understands what is really happening, observes how things work in practice, identifies what’s getting in the way and then puts the right systems, processes and structures in place.
In other words, it brings order to complexity.
During one of our conversations about values, the client talked about how important order and method were to the business. In fact what was actually said was:
“Order and method, Miss Lemon.”
A quote from Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. It was one of those moments that planted a seed.
The more we explored it, the more the connection made sense. Poirot approaches every case in much the same way the business approaches every client challenge. He gathers the evidence, observes carefully, asks questions, looks for patterns and refuses to jump to conclusions. He applies logic, intelligence and method to understand what is really going on.
It seemed like the perfect way to describe the thorough, considered approach at the heart of the business.
And so O&M was born.
“Matt’s discovery session brought out the detail and depth of the values that sit at the heart of both myself and my organisation. It resulted in a much clearer understanding of how to communicate my business. One that has reached well beyond just branding.”
Janka Rodziewicz, O&M
A Name With Personality
Order & Method isn't simply a description of what the business does. It captures how it thinks. The work itself is serious. The problems being solved can be significant. But that doesn't mean the brand needs to be cold, corporate or overly earnest.
The Poirot connection provided a way to communicate intelligence and rigour with a touch of warmth and character. It also gave us a distinctive creative territory to explore. Rather than following the familiar visual conventions of business consultancy, we could create something with a little more intrigue.
The Art Deco Direction
The Art Deco aesthetic from the Poirot universe provided the perfect visual territory.
Its geometry, symmetry, typography and decorative forms create a visual language that feels sophisticated and considered, while its theatricality introduces a sense of fun.
That balance was important.
In a sector where consultancy brands can easily become visually predictable, the Art Deco influence gives O&M an identity that feels immediately different.
The geometry also provided a natural connection with the idea of order, structure, balance, precision and everything having its place.
The ROSE Method
There was another idea quietly present throughout the development of the identity: a strong botanical influence. As the business's approach was formalised, four distinct stages emerged:
Research. Observe. Strategise. Enable.
Together, they became the ROSE Method.
Research Gathering the evidence and understanding the context.
Observe Getting into the business and seeing how things actually work, rather than relying solely on what the paperwork says.
Strategise Turning those observations into a clear plan, establishing the systems and processes needed to create improvement.
Enable Helping the people involved adopt and embed the new approach, giving them the knowledge, confidence and support to make it work in practice.
The ROSE Method gave the business a memorable way to explain its approach, while also creating a natural connection with the botanical influence that had been emerging visually.
And it opened up another connection with Art Deco. Stylised, geometric floral forms are a characteristic feature of the period, allowing the rose to become both a strategic idea and a distinctive visual device.
Turning Ideas Into Identity
The visual identity brings all of these ideas together.
The wordmark uses Modernoir, an Art Deco-inspired typeface chosen for its strong geometric forms and distinctive character. Its almost circular ‘O’ and particularly characterful ‘M’ provided the right foundation.
But the details mattered.
The original ampersand wasn't quite right, so a bespoke version was created specifically for the brand, with proportions based on the Golden Ratio.
The ‘O’ was also redrawn as a perfect circle, strengthening the geometric quality of the wordmark.
The identity is completed by a bespoke decorative frame, inspired by the ornate geometric forms of Art Deco. Its symmetry reinforces the idea of order, while providing a natural home for another important element: the rose.
The rose itself was distilled from a found image of an Art Deco stained-glass window into a bold, geometric symbol.
Together, these details create an identity that feels sophisticated and considered, but also distinctive and full of character.
“Matt’s ability to distil all the intangible things that my business stands for into a single, clear brand, capturing the rigour of my work alongside the warmth, kindness and quirky character that is me, is quite extraordinary.”
Janka Rodziewicz, O&M
Grow Your Business With Order & Method
The final piece of the puzzle was the tagline: Grow your business with Order & Method.
It brings together the two sides of the proposition.
Order & Method describes how the business works.
Grow your business describes what that work makes possible.
Because the ultimate goal isn't order for order's sake. It's about creating a business that is more stable, more consistent and better organised, giving its people greater clarity and confidence and creating stronger foundations for growth.
The tagline turns a process into a promise.
The Result
What began as a naming problem became an opportunity to uncover what makes the business different.
The new O&M brand gives the business a way to articulate not just what it does, but the thinking behind it. The name captures the core proposition, the ROSE Method gives structure to the way it works, and the Art Deco identity brings those ideas together in a visual language with real character.
Most importantly, the brand now has a story that connects everything. From the way the business approaches a problem, to the way it works with its clients, to the way it presents itself to the outside world.
A brand built around finding the pattern, creating order and giving businesses the clarity and confidence to move forward.
Ready to grow your business?
If you’d like to grow your business, the best place to start might be your brand.
A clear, considered brand gives you the confidence to move forward, communicates the value you bring and creates a stronger foundation for growth.
If your business has evolved but your brand hasn’t quite caught up, let’s have a conversation.
Maybe it’s time to put things in order.