Lovebrook & Green is the first new department store to launch in the UK in over 100 years and the world’s first ethical luxury online-first department store.
As an online-first business, its website and digital assets needed to serve as the cornerstone of the customer experience, seamlessly blending heritage, luxury, and sustainability.
The name Lovebrook & Green was chosen by the founder to reflect a deep commitment to nature and as a nod to James Lovelock, whose Gaia theory proposes that the Earth is a self-regulating system that supports life.
The visual brand needed to be distinctive enough to build recall and foster customer loyalty, driving long-term customer value, while working seamlessly alongside the hundreds of brands that Lovebrook & Green stock. Many of these curated brands were chosen for their commitment to regenerative practices and nature – principles central to Lovebrook & Green’s ethos, so we took this as the guiding inspiration for the visual brand.
Inspired by the Gaia hypothesis and sacred geometry, we created a primary wordmark, a secondary monogram, and an abstract logo mark inspired by the Seed of Life, mandalas and traditional filigree patterns – reflecting balance, nature, and connection. This distinctive identity balanced the heritage and status of department stores with the innovation of a modern digital platform.
A nature-inspired, quintessentially British, 18 colour palette was designed to span across 8 departments and was rigorously tested for digital accessibility.
We designed a tone of voice that is warm, elegant, and empowering, while the website and UX/UI design, informed by eye pattern trend research and neuroscience, ensured an intuitive, visually engaging user experience designed to drive conversions.
The result was a virtual storefront and visual identity that embodied Lovebrook & Green’s ethos and allowed the brand to stand out in a competitive luxury market while championing its ethical values.
Demographic Targeting
All visual brand projects should be designed with the target audience in mind to ensure that the branding resonates and drives engagement.
At the start of the project, our team applied its specialist expertise in microtargeting – an approach honed through successes with political campaigns and retail leaders.
Traditionally, department stores target a broad range of demographics, catering to mass-market audiences. However, ecommerce and digital advertising perform best when tailored to specific audiences aligned with the businesses’ price point and brand positioning.
For Lovebrook & Green, this presented a unique challenge: finding the balance between achieving broad mass-market appeal and building a highly targeted strategy to drive digital success.
Most sustainability-focused brands operate at luxury price points due to higher production costs, so we knew that Lovebrook & Green needed a luxury focus.
Guided by the Luxury Brand Hierarchy from Business of Fashion, we analysed the average price point and basket size of the brands Lovebrook & Green intended to stock. This helped us identify the disposable income threshold necessary for regular shoppers, defining the core audience as AB1 women aged 45+ in urban and suburban areas.
We complemented this analysis with insights from user-generated content (UGC) across competitor department stores, which revealed a secondary “little luxuries” market. This segment included younger or less affluent customers purchasing high-end consumables like tea, coffee, chocolates and small homeware items as gifts or personal treats. These purchases were often shared on social media as social signalling – demonstrating aspirational luxury within their means.
By contrasting this behaviour with insights from higher-spending “true luxury” shoppers, who typically do not feel the need to share routine purchases, we refined the brand’s positioning.
The result was a high-end “quiet luxury” identity that resonated deeply with the core audience while remaining aspirational to younger consumers who could “age in” to becoming loyal customers, maximising lifetime value.
Gestalt Principles in the Lovebrook & Green logo design
The Lovebrook & Green logo assets were meticulously crafted using Gestalt principles to create a cohesive and meaningful visual identity that reflects luxury, balance, and connection.
The principles of similarity, symmetry, and continuity were central to the design:
- Principle of Similarity:
Consistent use of flowing curves, elegant line weights, and mirrored patterns across the wordmark, monogram, and filigree logo mark establishes a unified visual language. Continuity was achieved by deriving the intricate filigree logo mark directly from the forms of the “L” and “G” lettering and ampersand in the monogram. This repetition ties the various elements together, creating harmony and reinforcing the brand’s identity as a high-end, nature-inspired retailer. The recurring motifs also reflect the interconnectedness central to the Gaia hypothesis. - Principle of Symmetry:
The filigree logo mark is highly symmetrical, evoking a sense of stability, elegance, and timelessness. Drawing inspiration from the Seed of Life and mandalas, the balanced design mirrors the themes of regeneration and harmony found in nature. This symmetry appeals to the human eye’s innate preference for order, enhancing memorability and fostering trust in the brand. - Principle of Continuity:
The flowing lines and smooth transitions in the typography and filigree encourage the viewer’s eye to move seamlessly through the design. This uninterrupted movement reflects the concept of connection – between nature, luxury, and the customer experience – and ensures a polished, professional aesthetic.
By focusing on these Gestalt principles, the logo assets achieve a harmonious and aspirational identity, perfectly aligned with Lovebrook & Green’s commitment to sustainability and quiet luxury.
Colour palette design
The Lovebrook & Green colour palette was developed using principles of colour theory to evoke luxury, harmony, and connection to nature. Inspired by the brand’s commitment to sustainability and the natural world, the palette balances soft, earthy tones with quintessentially British hues and muted tones, creating a sense of timeless elegance.
Each departmental colour palette features a distinct combination of complementary colours, ensuring both differentiation and cohesion across the brand’s divisions. For example, warm, inviting tones like “Chivalrous Walrus” and “Laguna Beach” evoke the heritage and sophistication of the fashion department, while cool, calming shades like “Breakwater” and “Smoky Teal” reflect serenity and refinement for the beauty department. These carefully chosen hues align with the emotional resonance needed for each department’s target audience.
The primary brand colours, “Cape Cod” and “Swan Dive,” were chosen to anchor the visual identity with a neutral, sophisticated foundation that seamlessly integrates with the departmental palettes. These tones convey balance and modernity while ensuring the brand feels cohesive across its digital and physical touchpoints.
To ensure inclusivity and usability, all colours were rigorously tested for digital accessibility, meeting WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. This thoughtful approach not only enhances the user experience but also reflects the brand’s ethical and regenerative values.
Through the application of colour theory, the palette serves to visually articulate Lovebrook & Green’s ethos, reinforcing its identity as a luxury leader in sustainability.
The Lovebrook & Green project exemplifies the power of thoughtful, strategic brand design in creating a cohesive and meaningful identity that resonates with target audiences.
By combining in-depth demographic analysis, cutting-edge digital design, and a commitment to the principles of sustainability and quiet luxury, we developed a brand identity that not only reflects Lovebrook & Green’s ethos but also establishes them as a leader in ethical luxury.
Every element of the brand was carefully crafted to build recall, foster loyalty, and drive long-term customer value.
The design successfully bridges the heritage of traditional department stores with the innovation of a digital-first platform, ensuring a seamless and intuitive customer experience.
This case study highlights how strategic thinking and creative execution can transform a bold vision into a distinctive, market-leading reality.
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