Rebranding for a high-end landscaping company helps get back to their roots

“Mrs. Erbs,” a high-end landscaping firm, was founded by Sara Erb. When Keith Wallock purchased the company, he was concerned that the current branding did not reflect their quality of service — nor his gender. After extensive research, I proposed a name shift from “Mrs. Erbs” to the more elegant and gender-neutral, “M. Erbs.” Beyond just visuals, the new brand was given a cheeky voice in form of witty plant-based puns on every item we could find. Online, we addressed customer requests for more information and inspiration by compiling images of the company's work by garden type and creating a seasonal email newsletter. Now the M. Erbs team has a brand image that is as beautiful and sophisticated as their work.

 

Project
M. Erbs Fine Gardens Branding, Website

Agency
MSLK

Role
Naming
Logo Design
Copywriting
Art Direction
Creative Direction
Project Management

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The logo is a clear representation of plants growing through layer of soil. We chose to use a deep red, which had equity from the previous identity, as it stands out proudly from all their green-colored competitors.

 

The website puts large images of their work front and center, positioning M. Erbs more as fine artists, rather than contractors. 

 

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We focused on making the stationrery system clean, clear, and bold with just one color. The paper is an off-white cream, helping to keep things feel warm and natural. Additional lines information are stacked vertically, creating more layers of “soil” for their plants to grow from.

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The client had expressed having a hard time getting his staff in their old uniforms. The reason was that they were a team of creatives, and felt uniforms would quash their creativity. Our solution was to make individual T-shirts with punny statements that they could wear underneath more standardized (yet stylish) hoodies. That way, they are able to maintain their sense of individualism, while appearing as a cohesive team.