3 little birds logo design

A strong brand identity must do more than look good in a frame. Instead, it has to work on a gin label, a water bottle, a tea box and a business card. Here is how we built one from scratch for 3 Little Birds.

Who Is 3 Little Birds?

3 Little Birds is a new high-end boutique lifestyle brand. Andries Du Plessis founded it around a simple idea. Specifically, the products people bring home should feel as considered as the business behind them.

The Product Range

Overall, the range spans gin, wine, bottled water, tea, coffee and collagen-based wellness products. Instead of chasing the mass market, the brand focuses on quality and conscious living.

Why 3 Little Birds Came to TLDC Marketing

As a brand-new business, 3 Little Birds needed a complete identity from the ground up. Furthermore, that identity had to carry a premium boutique feel across a wide product range. It also had to work before a single label or web page existed.

The Design Brief — What 3 Little Birds Needed

A New Brand With No Visual History

This was a new business and a new brand. Therefore, there was no existing visual language to build on. As a result, the identity had to set the tone for everything that followed.

However, the brief was specific about the feeling the brand needed to carry. It asked for a high-end, boutique look that feels modern with a touch of vintage. Above all, the brand had to feel exclusive. The client wanted a brand so beautiful that people would want it in their homes. It should also become part of their lifestyle.

Four Requirements That Shaped the Design

Four requirements shaped the direction from day one.

• It had to work on products, not just paperwork. The logo needed to perform on a gin bottle, a water bottle and a tea box. It also had to work on a business card and letterhead.
• Colour needed tight control. First, the brief called for black as the primary colour. Beige and olive green formed the secondary palette. However, pink, red, blue and orange were off limits. That rule keeps the brand away from colours other categories already own.
• The tagline needed real meaning. The brand draws its inspiration from Rich Dad Poor Dad. In short, life comes down to the decisions we make. For that reason, the mark itself had to carry “It’s all about decisions”.
• The imagery was specific. The brief asked for three puffed-up little birds. Two face forward together, while one turns away. That image shows a decision being made, and it also explains the brand name.

The Strategy — Turning “It’s All About Decisions” Into a Logo

Telling the Story Through the Birds

The strongest design opportunity was the story, not the product range. Instead of illustrating the tagline separately, we built the mark around the moment it describes. Three rounded, puffed-up birds perch together. Two face one direction, while one breaks away.

As a result, the silhouette carries the idea of decisions on its own. It also shows togetherness and departure in a single image.

Choosing the Perch

The brief suggested a different perch for each concept. For example, one concept could place the birds on barbed wire. Meanwhile, the other could use a branch or a juniper berry twig. The juniper option also nods to gin, one of the brand’s core products.

A Colour System That Works Everywhere

Colour needed to do two jobs. First, the logo had to work in single-colour black. That version suits stamping, embossing and anywhere a bold, high-contrast mark helps. In addition, the brief used Six Dogs as the benchmark for how a logo should work on labels.

Second, the logo needed a colour version. It adds beige and olive green to the black. As a result, packaging, web and print get a warmer, more tactile option.

Typography That Supports the Mark

Likewise, typography follows the brief: high-end, boutique and a touch vintage. The lettering sits comfortably beside a detailed illustration. Therefore, it supports the birds instead of competing with them.

The Corporate Identity Elements We Delivered

We delivered this project as Corporate Identity Pack 1. As a result, 3 Little Birds received a complete foundation for print and digital use, not just a logo.

What the Pack Includes

• Final logo. Full colour and landscape. We supplied JPEG, PNG, PDF and editable AI files.
• Business card. A 90 x 50mm double-sided design. The front carries the brand mark, while the back holds contact details and social icons.
• Letterhead. A full A4 layout (210 x 297mm) for formal business correspondence. Additionally, we supplied JPEG, PDF and Word formats.
• Email signature. A 1350 x 400px static image with one click-through link. It also includes social icons for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp.

Concepts and Revisions

We developed two unique concept directions at the start. Each included a logo, business card, letterhead and email signature option. The package then included two rounds of revisions.

Bringing the Brand to Life Across Products

Testing the Logo on Real Packaging

3 Little Birds sells products, so the real test was never the business card. Instead, the question was whether the mark could carry a boutique feel across different packaging. Therefore, we mocked up the identity on bottled water, gin and tea.

Why the Two Versions Matter

The two versions give the brand flexibility. For instance, one suits simple packaging and embossed detail. The other brings warmth to products like tea and wellness items. As a result, one identity flexes across the whole range instead of a single flagship product.

Design Brief vs Final Delivery

The table below compares what the client asked for with what we delivered.

Design Area	Brief Requirement	Final Delivery
Look & Feel	High-end, boutique, modern, touch of vintage	An illustrated bird mark with a boutique, vintage-touched feel
Typography	Boutique feel with a touch of vintage	Refined lettering that supports the illustration
Colour Palette	Black, beige and olive green; no pink, red, blue or orange	Original approved logo plus a colour version
Tagline Integration	“It’s all about decisions” reflected in the design	Two birds together, one turning away
Imagery	Three puffed-up birds: two facing forward, one looking away	An illustrated bird trio on a perch
Competitor Differentiation	Stand apart from Six Dogs	A story-driven mark with its own narrative

What’s Next for 3 Little Birds

A corporate identity is the foundation, not the finish line. Next, we move into label design across the full range. That includes gin, wine, water, tea, coffee and collagen products.

After that, we will build a custom website. First, it will support wholesale enquiries. Later, it can add direct-to-consumer ecommerce.

Need a Brand Identity That Works This Hard?

Designing a logo for a business card is the easy version of this job. However, a logo for a gin label, tea box, letterhead and phone screen is harder. It must also say something true about the business. That is the standard TLDC Marketing applies to every corporate identity.

Explore more of our branding work in our Portfolio. You can also see how we approach projects like this through our Graphic & Web Design services. Or get in touch to talk through your own brand.