Meet Roots, a brand and website for Synergy (Grimsby) CIC

We’ve recently finished a project that’s very close to our hearts, and I’m properly excited to finally tell you about it.

Claire Wollington, Director of Synergy (Grimsby) CIC, got in touch because we’re a local company doing fun things, and she wanted to keep the project local. Synergy is a Lincolnshire-based social enterprise that helps young people aged 8 to 25 move confidently from childhood into adulthood. They’re a bit of an underdog, doing amazing things in the Grimsby West Marsh area and beyond, and I wanted the website to reflect that.

It was an open brief, which is always music to our ears… everything from the name to the brand, the tone of voice and a bespoke CMS. There was just one thing Claire insisted on: that I worked closely with the kids on the case studies and project pages.

So that’s exactly what I did, and it turned out to be the best bit. We all shared ideas, tweaked things, made it more personal and found improvements to the site along the way. I got to know the kids first hand, and it was obvious how much they love Roots and how much it’s helped their personal development. A thoroughly enjoyable experience!

The name came from somewhere very special. We came up with Roots as a nod to the allotment the kids affectionately know as ‘Lanzalotty’. They absolutely love that place. It’s a safe haven, and it’s the perfect picture of the roots Synergy lays down for the young people who spend time there.

Then came the fun part. We chose a vibrant colour scheme, fonts, icons and brand patterns, and our very own dynamic mascot, whom we lovingly called Roots.

The finished project was greeted with positive vibes (we wouldn’t want it any other way), and the gang are already adding new content to it themselves. That’s incredibly rewarding for us personally, because a website that keeps growing in the hands of the people it’s for is exactly what we hoped for.

If you’d like a nose around, you can visit the live site at raiseroots.co.uk, or read a bit more about how it all came together in our Roots case study.

Here’s to local projects, big-hearted people and a mascot with plenty of personality…

Bye for now,Paul 🤖