10ceruri.com - Discover a world of magic, dragons and mysteries

10ceruri.com may be a small size digital project we have done @ Business Booster, yet for sure it was the most magical so far! This project’s driving claim was that life is a series of all sorts of experiences … imaginable and unimaginable, we would now add.

“We spend most of our lives cutting down our ambitions because the world has told us to think small. Dreams express what your soul is telling you, so as crazy as your dream might seem – even to you – I don’t care: You have to let that out.”

— Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin

And what a life discovery journey this project was! Not only we got to work with one of a kind client, namely Floriana Ungureanu, but we ended up discovering a world we knew more or less about it. Therefore, here we are with a two-faces open invitation – firstly, to see how we work; secondly, to travel in the realms of spirituality and self-discovery.

How it all started

Brief Challenges

As per the requirements of the client’s brief, this project had 3 main requirements Business Booster team had to take into consideration:

THE WAY WE ANSWERED The brief

The Brand

We are delighted to have worked with Floriana Ungureanu, Owner & Content Creator of 10ceruri.com, a client who knew exactly what she wanted. It is also fair to say that we worked smoothly as our client was and willing to get out of her comfort zone. Lucky for us she was extremely open to what we had to say concerning specific topics we had to solve.

The Brand Promise

One of the first things we clarified with the client was the brand promise. There were few things we knew for sure:

What we realize was one simple truth. One reality, that of a story full of personal experiences and learned-by doing wisdom. Therefore, we refined the BRAND MISSION as follow:

“open the eyes and minds of the readers to the spiritual realms through shared personal experiences.”

Courage, responsibility and authenticity were the three BRAND VALUES for 10ceruri. Courage to speak your mind, your own personal truth. Taking full responsibility and peacefully accepting the consequences of your words, thoughts and actions. Authenticity in the way you express yourself, even if some might consider it too bold, arrogant or courageous.

Naming

Of all the ideas both client and we had for the brand name, “10ceruri” (aka 10skies) was the one that got all our votes. It was a brand name proposal that came from Liviu Cristea, Content Creator & Producer, and one of Business Booster’s consultant partners.

For those of you wondering why we all so delighted with “10ceruri”, here’s the short list:

Communicates the brand essence

When one takes the path of the spiritual journey and self-discovery, it needs to confront and harmonize the well-known polarities: the light and the darkness within, the good and the bad, the ying and the yang, the feminine and the masculine, and so on. In addition to that, to those already familiar with the esoteric world, there’s a clear distinction between the 10 upper (the light or the above) and 10 lower skies (the darkness or the underworld);

Unique within its industry

Differentiates the client from her competitors, it stands out from the crowd. It’s intriguing and stirs up curiosity.

Enduring

On the long run, 10ceruri is not a trendy or too niche name. It’s flexible enough to accommodate new spirituality or personal development related topics, events, books etc. If the focus expands, the name will still fit. Therefore, no future issues with the naming not being able to remain representative or relevant.

Brevity & Sonority

10ceruri is a short name and a memorable name. As may well know, brevity tends to lend itself to memorability. So, choosing a short and punchy name is one way of making sure it won't be easily forgotten.It's not just easy to remember, but also easy to pronounce. And this one important treat of good brand names.

Personality

It is often said that the most memorable names invent their own language, or try something new. And this is exactly what we did. We combined words or concepts. We took a chance, knowing that customers appreciate independent, risk-taking brands. Plus, so is 10ceruri's owner, Floriana. Striving to be different always pays off. Not only 10ceruri reflects the character of the brand, but it also embraces the owner’s personality.

Of course, the name had to be able to be owned and it was. And, lucky for us, so it was the web domain!

Typography

As you know, a brand’s core visual brand identity is made up of a holy trinity of design: Logo, Color and Typography. Each one serves a unique and clear purpose, requiring careful consideration and intention. Let’s see how we approached this in 10ceruri brand’s case.

As far as the font is concerned we went for Garamond. As a Google open source typeface, it’s free and easy to use, not to mention it’s web-friendly, ensuring consistency across platforms.

Such an open-source typeface is a popular option for many brands, particularly startups or bloggers. Since anyone can use them, sure there’s a risk of being perceived as basic, bland or boring, yet we believe this can be overcome by smartly combining it with other brand visual elements and a great selection of images.

In 10ceruri’s case, images truly speak a thousand words for they take you in a world of mythical creatures and mysteries. And if Microsoft, IKEA, Netflix and other big brands can afford to use open source typefaces, why not 10ceruri?

10ceruri Logo

We had the naming, the font family, but we were missing, so a brand-relevant icon. A bunch of simply designed 3 little stars, the trinity as we call it, and 2 planets (the Moon and the Sun) and planets that went hand in hand with the naming. We chose the colors and here it was, 10ceruri primary logo!

In today’s diverse mix of technologies, media formats and customer habits, having a lot more than a logo to visually (and verbally) present a business is mandatory. That’s one of the reasons we believe in delivering clients brand manuals, secondary graphics and “logo variations.” And all these practical tools for building 10ceruri brand were created.

Generally speaking, logo variations refer to primary design, horizontal design, square design, icon-only, name only, colour options, black and white option and one-colour option.

It had to make the connection between the brand name and the master behind it. If adding the .com domain was possible, all the better. Of course, it had to fit different shapes, sizes and contexts, while maintaining a consistent brand look and feel.

Imagery

In terms of visuals, we chose the fairytale-like images as they would help the reader better emotionally connect with the content. We could not ignore the fact that an image speaks a thousand words.

As the client is well-known for her teaching classes and workshops, we recommended acquiring licensed images to be used for the events and major content topics. This way we could establish a clear connection between the brand name and brand imagery, in time this leading two visual recognizability. It is a common-sense brand approach, but in the local niche industry like the one we talk about, this is often ignored. So, one more reason to do it the right way in order to support a clear brand positioning and consistency.

Consequently, we decided to use both paid and free photo service providers even though that meant a lot more effort in terms of selection and choices we made. On case to case basis, we edited the image as needed and added some icons or visual effects to obtain a similar look and feel of the images.

Due to the nature of the topics tackled, not even official stock photos could deliver all we needed in terms of images.

when all comes together

The Website

As previously mentioned, the client was very clear about the platform requirements, therefore we proposed using as platform Squarespace. To review the reasons why we suggested it:

When you create a website with Squarespace, you get free unlimited hosting and top-of-the-line security
Fully web responsive website and flexible templates running smoothly at great speed; easy to adjust and personalize
Change website templates with no extra costs
SEO-friendly functionalities
Easy and intuitive content editor for pages and blog posts
Around the clock support via email, live chat, or by joining a live webinar and technical maintenance
Already existing integrations with platforms such as MailChimp, Google Analytics, Google Drive;
Free domain for Business subscription
Personalized Gmail email domain for a small annual fee
At anytime ecommerce functionality can be added to the website
And in case at some point in time the client wants to migrate to a different platform, various export file functionalities are available.

The annual running cost for the platform is around 250 USD. It may not be the cheapest solution yet it’s a good price for what Squarespace has to offer and for the peace of mind of a client that does not have to worry about technical aspects.

Last but not least important, Squarespace it’s a good platform for any client who does not want to be locked-in by an Agency.

Information Architecture

If you visit 10ceruri.com, you’ll find it easy to understand what kind of content it offers, but it is also to navigate. That happened thanks to a very simplified information architecture we proposed to the client who initially had a lot of website content areas. Labels are also intuitive, relevant for the content they cover and easy to understand at first glance.

Content Strategy & Development

Fortunately, we had a client with an appetite for writing and willingness to learn the online writing & content SEO principles. Therefore, producing new good quality content came easily. Our input on editing and SEO optimization decreased significantly from the first articles we revised to the last ones. And it’s really great to see a fast learner client.

At Business Booster we are all about ensuring a non-dependent Agency-Client. We are striving to offer our input and ideas in those more specialized areas of the digital environment. It’s a work philosophy, if we can call it so, that makes both parties happy.

people like & share

Social Media

Considering the time and cost resources, the client decided to focus solely on Facebook and Instagram accounts. Therefore, we created easy to use Fotor templates for the client. Once again, by using a free Fotor account, we saved costs and made the client’s life a little bit easier.

When analyzing the type of content to be posted on Instagram, we identified few templates we had to create: quotes, articles and events.

A simple and clean layout for promoting events on Instagram. Just in the case of other Social Media layouts for such content, it uses Roboto font family.

Knowing the great appetite of online readers for quotes, but also Floriana’s talent for choosing them, we created an easy to update special template.

We chose a template that would easily accommodate different text sizes and also take advantage of the magical photos

Two branded Facebook cover photos for 10ceruri fan page. Simple, clean, using one brand-relevant images.

While we were busy working on the website, Floriana Ungureanu was about to launch her first book called “The Practical Magic of the Dragons”, so we came up with some ideas of communicating this on the website. Below you can see one of the banners used for promoting the newly launched book available for online shopping on the website of the publishing house.

WHEN IT’S ALL WORTH IT

Happy Client

Launching a digital project well is one thing, yet growing it properly, in the long run, is another. This latter thing we believe to be an essential part of our job and when you see it happening, it’s all worth it. Therefore, congrats, Floriana for beautifully growing 10ceruri.com project further!

I used to write long Notes or posts on Facebook presenting my thoughts and experiences, and every time I wanted to remember them or share with someone I had to look for them and remember when and where and how. Soon I have realized and everybody around me advised me that it would be better to have my own site, not only for those short stories but also for better presenting myself, my books, and the events that I propose. I am a sort of Jack of all trades, I know a little about everything without being an expert in anything except the written word. I have a tendency to complicate things, nevertheless, I know that simple is the best, and it is better to have a good start.

A good start means turning to an expert for advice and for getting the job done. It pays to have a professional look, to establish your brand name, to make a lasting impression.

Ana-Maria took all my raw materials and turned them into exquisite pieces of jewelery present now on display on the website, still, that wasn’t the most significant contribution, but the fact that doing so she established a streamline for me to continue, a framework in which all my future work can be fitted into.

The technical solution proved also to be the best option even in the long run, and I have decided to stick with it, as indeed it is minimum effort, best results at a convenient price, believe me, I have double-checked!

The best looking and most informative website is useless if is not visible from the first search, and that is ensured by a good SEO engine, and that in itself is expensive and difficult to configure. I am a sort of geek myself, so I know things, enough to recognize a good deal.