Behind The Work: Branding Design for Network of Good and its Subsidiaries

Ricardo Tejeda
Jul 23
6 min read

Behind The Work is an in-depth exploration of the thought process and reasoning—good and bad—that goes into some of our favorite projects.

The Task at Hand

In the spring of 2024, Safi Martin, one-half of the braintrust behind Hood Huggers International, PEACE Gardens, and the forthcoming Blue Note Junction, contacted me to help them create several designs for the various organizations she and her partner, DeWayne Barton, lead. Included in their design needs were updated label designs for products produced by PEACE Gardens, a coming soon sign for the Blue Note Junction, and branding design for a new organization, Network of Good, which would be the umbrella company for all the endeavors they've embarked on.

As it stood, the gulf between Hood Huggers and PEACE Gardens was perceived as too wide. Few understood how closely they were related, even though they were based on the same property in the Burton Street Neighborhood, a historically Black neighborhood in West Asheville. Add to that their latest venture, Blue Note Junction, and a connection the public could easily see was all the more important.

The Network of Good would bring all the individual branches together under one tree, telling the story of interconnectivity between the three previously mentioned companies. Revamped designs for products from PEACE Gardens would bring a fresh look to a line they felt needed an update. And signage for Blue Note Junction would give the community an exciting look at what's to come.

Designs for PEACE Gardens

PEACE Gardens is a community garden and events space inspired by the agricultural and entrepreneurial legacy of E.W. Pearson, founder of the Burton Street Community. The produce grown in the PEACE Gardens is harvested and sold onsite through their micro-store, and it's also used to make various jellies and sauces, which are bottled and sold as well.

The issue with their old label was two-fold. First, from an aesthetic aspect, they wanted the labels to reflect something more authentic and handcrafted. The entire line of bottled products came from and was produced through the grounds of the PEACE Gardens. Their hands were doing the work throughout the whole life cycle of the produce, from the growing, harvesting, cooking, and jarring process, and the label's design needed to be given that same care and quality. I designed the new PEACE Gardens labels to express the craftsmanship and tradition of a true artisan of the land, stylistically conveying natural ingredients with a genuine farm-to-table experience.

The second issue was a more pressing and practical one. Their current label designs doubled as a seal for the bottles and jars, and the material they were printed on was vinyl, making it nearly impossible to break without a knife or scissors to cut them with. When ideating these new label designs and needing them to match the same craftsmanship with which the products from the PEACE Gardens were produced, we thought it best to create a seal separate from the main label and use a tearable material that expressed a certain level of quality. Considering the more practical need, I sourced a press local to Asheville and used 60# Starboard Tack Uncoated White labels to print our designs on.

In all, I designed 17 different labels in five different sizes. Below is a gallery showing a few of the designs.

In addition to creating the designs for labels, I also created posters and signage designs to direct people to the PEACE Gardens to drive sales and boost visibility for the gardens and their newer endeavors.

Design for Blue Note Junction

Blue Note Junction is one of the latest undertakings by Safi and DeWayne. It will be an off-grid community resilience hub that combines emergency shelter, environmental education, cultural preservation, and local business incubation under one roof. In preparation for milestones, I was tasked with designing promotional materials.

The first was a bi-fold brochure for a groundbreaking and fundraising event highlighting different ways to engage with and donate to the Blue Note Junction. In keeping with the branding that already existed for Blue Note Junction, I designed the brochure to be different shades of blue with white text. This allowed readers of the brochure to easily understand the information in a way that kept up with accessibility standards.

The second design done in service of Blue Note Junction was a coming soon sign made to be displayed on the property where they had broken ground. Designed using the property rendering created by the architecture company that Safi and DeWayne hired, I placed simple, easy-to-digest type opposite it. I made sure to mention that Blue Note Junction and this community center are part of the Network of Good community, and I also placed the Network of Good logo between two QR codes that provide more information on Blue Note Junction.

Network of Good Logo and Print Collateral

In sitting with the idea of Network of Good and speaking with Safi and DeWayne about this brand that would encompass their other organizations, themes of connectivity kept coming to the surface. Network of Good was the umbrella under which everything else would fall, and people needed to know that. In the design exploration process, I quickly gravitated towards the Network of Good as the beacon of a community. Hood Huggers, PEACE Gardens, and Blue Note Junction were all branches from the tree that was Network of Good. In the initial concept that I sent, I created a heart formed out of the initials NOG. That first concept was approved, and I built the logo for Network of Good.

Click to expand

In keeping with the themes coming to the surface when thinking of what Network of Good represented, I designed the logo to be a heart, using the initials NOG to form the shape. The letters interlock with each other, and within the more detailed color logo, you can see the monochromatic colors of each letter spiral into each other. These forms and their interplay with one another further demonstrate the connectivity between the different entities that the Network of Good represents. The letter O in the center is blazoned red, representing a rising sun on a new day that shines and brings warmth and light upon the community of Burton Street and beyond. The Os in "Good" take the shape of an infinity symbol to highlight that there is infinite good to be done within the work that Safi and DeWayne engage in, and that all of us can join. This culminates in the form of the main icon, the heart. Network of Good is the heartbeat of the community, and the people who join in the mission of NOG are the pulse that reverberates throughout Asheville, Western North Carolina, and wherever the work may be needed.

I also created a rolldown banner meant to tell the story of Network of Good and be displayed at the farm stand of Blue Note Junction. Using clear and purposeful language, Network of Good itself is described as we and the organizations under its umbrella as a community.

Lastly, I created the print collateral for the Network of Good. This included business cards, a brochure, and stationery. In the gallery, you'll see the print file for the envelope. It was designed so that each envelope flap represents a letter shape of the logo through color.

Final Thoughts

In working with Safi and DeWayne, I created various designs, from redesigning and printing the packaging for their canned goods to building a logo. I worked within their budget, which meant that designing a complete brand identity system for Network of Good wasn't feasible. Still, I created everything with intention and purpose, knowing that in the future, we will create brand guidelines and a design system that will find its foundations in the roots of what we've already established for Network of Good.

With the PEACE Gardens labels and posters, we were able to strategize designs that could be used for multiple purposes and be easily recognizable and associated with PEACE Gardens. The posters and labels speak to each other, and in the future, we'll use the same basis of those designs to create recipe cards that Safi and DeWayne can sell in packs.

In terms of the number of different designs—17 different labels, the posters for PEACE Gardens, the coming soon sign and brochure for Blue Note Junction, the logo for Network of Good, along with the roll-down banner, and print collateral—this was my most robust design job to date. I think everything we set out to do was accomplished.