branding & website design: Fordwell strategies

Emily came to me wanting a website. Simple enough, right? We hopped on a call to talk through her goals and what she was building. That’s when I realized the foundation wasn’t quite there yet. My rule of thumb when building websites is that you’ve got to have your branding in place first. She thought she had one–with a set of generic logos from an Etsy seller–but the visuals she shared didn’t match the story she was telling me.

The designs were clean and modern, the color palette navy and cream. Overall it felt more like corporate deal-making in a boardroom than boutique strategy with a feminine touch. One of the first things Emily told me was that she wanted her company to feel approachable, personal, and white-glove—not stiff or generic. So we hit pause on the website and jumped straight into brand development.

The challenge?

A thirty-day timeline from start to finish.

We started with a mood board pulling from suffragette history, iconic Vogue covers, and handcrafted perfume bottles. The look came together quickly: charcoal and off-white with a few subtle pops of green and purple. Emily gave one round of feedback, I made edits, and by the second round the brand suite was locked in.

From there, the website came together fast. We leaned into editorial-style images of landscapes and the DC capital to give it structure and polish. With the new brand in place, everything clicked.

In just one month, we went from a starter idea to a fully realized brand and digital home for Fordwell Strategies. The end result is refined, powerful, and true to Emily’s vision.

For more information on Emily’s new business, Fordwell Strategies, head over to fordwellstrat.com.