New logo for Flower Power by Public Design Group

Flower Power is a family-owned and operated chain of garden centres in Sydney. Its origins date back to 1968, when young Maltese immigrant Nick Sammut purchased a modest nursery in Moorebank and worked tirelessly to improve it. A customer himself as well as a keen gardener, Sammut’s approach proved successful, eventually leading to a second site opening at Bass Hill, and more followed.

Flower Power has grown to innovate and challenge the industry to become the largest garden centre chain in Australia with growing, wholesale, importing, bagging and garden maintenance operations. In 2018, Flower Power celebrated 50 successful years in business, and was inducted into Family Business Australia’s Hall of Fame.

The old logo was very much of its time, with a funky rounded typeface that was in some way prototypical of the 1970s. It may not have been the best choice for readability, though, with its tight spacing and small counters. A smiling sun with flowers accompanied the type at some point, and while it was clumsy and a tad complex in its execution, it created a positive and friendly vibe that let the brand’s warm character shine through.

50 years on, the logo was looking too quirky for a business that wanted to be taken seriously with the open of a new state-of-the-art store. It was time for a facelift.

The new, more utilitarian logo quite rightly does away with the smiling sun and features the name in a respectably plain humanist sans. Notably, the name is now in lowercase, keeping things casual and approachable. The other new addition is the pair of leaves that adorn the top of the w. If you use your imagination, the w kind of looks like a pot from which the leaves are sprouting. And as I gaze at the leaves further, I realise that there is actually a semblance of a smile in the negative space – a nice little Easter egg. The colours, too, work well with the earthy hues being in harmony with the colours of the garden. Overall, a fine logo.