Hayley Newstead is the mastermind behind one of the UK’s most celebrated and enduring luxury florists. An event and interior designer with a seductive style and a taste level off the charts, she is renowned for her voluptuous hand tied bouquets and exquisite mid-century design aesthetic. Everything Absolute Flowers & Home dreams up is truly gorgeous and ahead of its time.
The AFH branding was all about authentic beauty and 24-carat luxury. A destination with a drop dead gorgeous deco tiled interior and a literally divine name, the brand identity design was the perfect fit for Oro&Co. (Shhh… we love luxury brands, but we love really luscious luxury brands best.) The initial stage of the project was to communicate the soul of the brand’s philosophy and physical environment in a jewel logo that you could hold in the palm of your hand. It’s never simple, it's a process, but Oro&Co understand what has to be achieved and we recognise when it’s right and appears to have always been there.
We created a timelessly opulent ornament around the letter ‘A’ and layered complex geometric vertices which referenced The Absolute in elemental colours of black, gold and white. Every weight, function and form was drawn and redrawn with mathematical precision to create a symbol with no beginning or end — a meticulous balance of openness and intricacy. Weaving a classic cursive script with a deco-inspired font to accompany our jewelled logo, deceptively simple typography which added texture and detail, once again balancing the polarities of purity and complexity. The authoritative, compelling and energetic logo that manifested resonated with the subconscious — because the intention was inherent — and drew fans from far and wide.
We expanded the brand with an abundance of mouth-watering print, made to be used and designed to be unforgettable. We produced deliciously complex gift cards, business cards, labels, envelopes, letterheads, shopping bags, labels and embossed tin tags. Satin and gloss foils combined on the events and interior design materials with premium die-stamping for the customer facing flower shop — each item individually burnished by hand to give a unique lustre. Heavy duty forever shopping bags with embossed paper, gleaming foil blocked logos and rope handles came in three sizes and proportions to hold orchids, cushions and candles. A veritable multitude of miniature objects d’art.