Marcia Formica

One woman, many chapters, and a brand designed to grow.

Brand Strategy · Brand Architecture · Brand Identity · Website Design · Squarespace · Content Migration · Personal Branding

The challenge: more than one story to tell

When Marcia Formica approached Beach Creative, she was preparing to launch Creative Natives, a landscape design business with a focus on native plants and sustainable gardens.

But on closer inspection, Creative Natives was actually just one chapter of Marcia's story.

After more than three decades in corporate America, Marcia had explored several creative directions. She was already the author of Zen (and Rage) and the Art of a Never-Ending Home Renovation, a humorous account of an ambitious renovation project, and the voice behind Fire Over Fifty, an established personal blog. Each venture had its own identity, audience and purpose. The challenge was finding a way to bring them together without diminishing what made each one distinctive.

The approach: putting Marcia at the centre

Rather than create a standalone brand for Creative Natives, I proposed building the overarching identity around Marcia herself.

It was a strategic decision that changed the direction of the project, because I realised that Marcia was the common thread connecting the different ventures. By establishing Marcia Formica as the master brand, we could give each project its own recognisable identity while creating a cohesive home for everything she did.

I developed a family of visual identities for Marcia and her three ventures: Creative Natives, Fire Over Fift, and Zen (and Rage). Each has its own personality, but all sit within a connected brand system. And just as importantly, the structure was designed to be flexible, so that when Marcia embarks on her next project, it can become another chapter in the story rather than requiring an entirely new online presence.

The website: one home, different journeys

With the brand architecture established, I designed and built a Squarespace website that brought Marcia's work together under one roof. The site introduces Marcia first, then gives visitors clear routes into the different aspects of her work.

Creative Natives has a dedicated space to present its landscape design services, showcase projects and encourage consultation enquiries.

Zen (and Rage) has a promotional home for the book, including its story, reviews, photographs and purchasing information.

Fire Over Fifty provides a home for Marcia's writing, with an established archive of articles spanning personal experiences, home renovation, food and more.

Each area serves a different audience, but the website feels like one coherent whole.

Preserving the past while planning for the future

An important part of the website project was migrating Marcia's existing blog. Fire Over Fifty represented years of writing and an established body of content. Rather than abandon that history or leave it disconnected from her newer work, I brought the archive into the new website. The result preserves an important part of Marcia's creative journey while making it easier for visitors to discover the connections between her different interests. And because the website is built around Marcia rather than any one venture, it has room to evolve alongside her.

The outcome: a brand with room to grow

Marcia now has a cohesive visual identity and digital home that reflects the breadth of her experience and interests.

Creative Natives has a professional platform from which to develop its business. Her book and writing have dedicated spaces within a wider personal brand. And visitors can discover the different dimensions of Marcia's work without encountering a collection of disconnected websites.

Most importantly, the brand is not limited to what Marcia is doing today - it’s ready for whatever comes next.

The bigger picture

This project is a good example of why I believe branding should begin with understanding the person or business behind the brief. Marcia initially came to me with a new venture to launch. By looking at the wider picture, we arrived at a solution that brought together her existing work, supported her new business, and created possibilities for the future.