Brand Identity

The Business

Focus Retreat Center is a curated environment for work immersion, built in an old school complex in upstate New York. There, groups or individuals can immerse themselves with supportive peers to work on writing, code or game development, startup ideation, the arts, anything that benefits from a period of deeply focused thinking. It’s ideal for team offsites, startup retreats, and art residencies. Run by a longtime software developer and a hospitality expert, their mission is the support of people who are doing focused work.

The Design Elements

The logo and brand wanted to reflect “coming together around an idea”, and focus in a Zenlike way with other people, the idea of a retreat. The icon we arrived at can be read as a frame, or chairs around a table, or people around a fire. The shapes are individual, but mutually supportive and together they make a solid shape.

The arrangement makes a nod to common First Nations iconography of a home and hearth with people; often in those traditions the central dark circle represents the creative heart of the Universe, the quiet center from which everything springs- but in this case it is a dreamy sky blue.

Brand Materials

Website and other materials reflect that calm quiet of retreat, and the beautiful natural landscape that surrounds the center. The website and materials convey a vividness of experience but also a Zenlike simplicity, seeking to remove all friction  from the experience, like the center itself. A humanistic sans font is easily readable and modern, but has individuality.

Inside, the common rooms are painted in graphics of the blue colors plus natural brown and neutrals, giving a feeling of calm activation.

Customer Joy

The owners write, “Our look-and-feel is exactly what we wanted, the graphic approach gives us the perfect unique look. It gives people a sense for who we are and the quality of our experience. Working with Liz was a delight, always professional and delivered on time, with great communication throughout. As a developer, I’m excited that the website is lightweight, fast, and easy to update myself- and it looks great!”