The Dancing Blueberries

The Weightless Nutritionist New Logo Image

I’d like to share the story of the creation of my new branding, both mine and the creative agencies’, so you can really get a sense of why the new design perfectly encompasses who I am and where I am taking this brand.

I am from a small town about 2 hours east of Thunder Bay, on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and while growing fruit wasn’t much of a thing in a place where we had winter for most of the year, blueberries grew wild and free - much like I did in the forests and lakes that were part of our everyday world growing up there. I was a wild child…we all were. Running through the bush, swimming in the big lake and all the little ones too, climbing trees, building sandcastles and bonfires – we collected glass that had been polished smooth by lake water, and rocks from deep in the forest. Being a kid in Northwestern Ontario is something so special and awesome and an experience I will never forget. I am so grateful to have had it and feel a little more Canadian because of it. 

Berry picking was something forced upon us as a child. While my sister grew up loving berry picking and still does, I on the other hand, despised it then and am still not a fan now. We’d all get an ice cream bucket strung with a string handle, long enough to hang around your neck. Then we’d all pile in the truck and head to one spot or another to pick berries until we cried (which for me was almost immediately). I was a firm believer that if I had to pick the berries, I was going to eat most of them, so my bucket was never going to get full. The bugs were bad. My sister and brother told on me when I was chasing bugs and butterflies vs picking berries, so I was often in trouble. You can see why it just wasn’t my go-to activity for fun and adventure. My dad always teased that if I didn’t pick them, I couldn’t eat them, but then always made sure there were some blueberries for us to eat, washed and ready to go in the fridge. 

Even now, back home a good blueberry season means my dad and the bears are happy. He is essentially part of a cult of blueberry pickers; never misses a day, never tells anyone where his secret spots are, never comes back empty-handed. We always ask him to let us know where he’s going – for safety and since he sometimes shares a berry patch with a bear or two – but he never tells us. We can’t know. He’ll pull up in the truck, ice cream bucket full to the brim with blue gold, and my mom knows it’s now her turn to figure out what to do with the blueberries today. Yesterday was pie. The day before was coffee cake. Now what? And this is pretty much the summer norm back home.

Now, when we visit in the summer, we aren’t allowed to leave without that giant bag of hand-picked wild Northern Ontario blueberries – and when I tell you that they taste so much better, so different than any blueberry you’ve ever had, that’s an understatement. It’s almost like you can taste the goodness in them – blueberries are incredibly high in antioxidants and are one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. And since here at The Weightless Nutritionist we love to fill our cups and plates and bowls with nutrient-dense foods that taste really good, blueberries are such a great fit for this brand and what we as a community stand for.

Blue is also my favourite colour – growing up on a big, bold, beautiful lake that often shimmers dark, deep blue because she is so deep and cold and mysterious – her waters are crystal clear but she is almost always a deep, blueberry-blue. I am always drawn to and feel comfort in blue waters, because it feels like home.

My favourite part of the blueberry logo? That they seem weightless, like they are dancing in the wind, swaying in the breeze, happy. I can picture the low berry bushes as the winds rush through them, tickling the leaves and quickly swaying them back and forth. For me an important part of this brand is that it helps you feel truly weightless, like dancing, as free as a swaying blueberry bush in the breeze.

Lemon Collective, the creative agency behind this rebranding, has this to say when putting into words this simple, elegant design:

It was important that this concept focused on the term “weightless” without an implication of body weight, thus the decision to focus on direction, space, and flows in the line curvatures.

The icon included in this concept is meant to portray blueberries and an infinity symbol. Not only do blueberries have a deeper significance to the brand, but it is also meant to represent the ongoing (infinite) growth and journey of the individuals who work with The Weightless Nutritionist.

Thank you so much to Jaclyn and Julie, the award-winning entrepreneurs behind this beautiful new brand – you have used your talents to create exactly what I knew wanted and didn’t know I needed.

To me, it’s perfect. This rebrand hits all the notes, and I literally feel it as part of who I am. I am so happy you are here, on this journey to feeling truly weightless with me, because life is too short to spend all your time feeling weighed down.