The story behind the flower

There’s a story behind my logo and I’d like to share it with you.

When I was trying to decide on a logo, I knew the business name I would use, which at the time was Quinntessential Psychology (yes I’m a former clinical psychologist), a nice play on my name with a good meaning behind it too.

The dictionary definition of quintessential is “representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class”.

I liked it, it fit with my desire to provide excellent service to my clients, although I knew I could never be perfect, nor was I striving to be. That’s a recipe for burnout for sure!

At the time my business was solely focused on clinical work as a psychologist. Wow how things have changed!

I now work as The Anti-Burnout Business Coach. I work with service-based business owners and entrepreneurs to help them change their relationship with themselves and their business so both can thrive.

Don’t you love it when life and business evolves? Sorry I digress, I was telling you about the significance of the logo wasn’t I…

So I had my business name, but what I didn’t have was the picture element of the logo design.

I searched and searched for images, what a rabbit hole that is! but nothing really stood out to me.

I was at home one day, going through some jewellery and I came across a ring I had bought for myself many years previous whilst I was backpacking around Australia.

The ring made quite a statement when worn. It wasn’t subtle, yet it still had a softness about it and for me represented so many things about growth and beauty and complexity.

In that moment, I knew I wanted something that felt like this ring.

I was visiting a friend of mine, Emma a beautiful artist, and talking to her about my thoughts for a design based on my ring.

Her creative juices started to flow, and she offered to do some sketches for me, which I then took to a graphic designer to work on my logo.

I chose a designer based on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. I organised a day trip with my husband and travelled from Brisbane, where we were living at the time, up to the appointment. I dropped him off so he could go surfing and I went off to meet with the designer.

Travelling up the coast fitted with the feeling I had about the ring and the logo. It represented the days, many years before, when I was travelling, learning, growing, and meeting myself in way I hadn’t before.

I also loved that my husband was going surfing as I had done a Learn to Surf day on my travels in Byron Bay. I even managed to stand up on the board and head into the beach! Not sure I’d be able to do that now but hey you never know!

It all seemed very aligned.

It also fitted with my desire to have fun, flexibility and freedom in my business. So why not combine a beautiful drive, time with my husband, and being at the coast with a business task!

The flower for me represents us as humans and our businesses growing, blooming, and thriving.

It makes me think of how we are many different parts of self, with many emotions, motivations, wants, needs and desires and how all those parts come together to make up the beautiful human being that we are. All parts of us are important and need to be taken care of.

My original flower logo was many shades of pink and the array of colours reminded me of the differences amongst us and the shape of the petals represent the similarities that we share.

Sometimes petals fall off flowers, just as things fall away in our lives and our businesses.

Sometimes this is painful and sometimes this is a beautiful opportunity for something new to grow in its place.

Sometimes we let go of parts of ourselves in the form of stories we carry that no longer serve us.

Sometimes we discover new parts within ourselves that we have been ignoring or unaware of.

My flower has travelled across different logos and appears in most of my work as a reminder to keep growing, pruning, thriving and looking for the beauty around us.

Do you have a logo for your business? Does it hold meaning for you and your work? Have you ever shared that with your clients/customers? If not, maybe that’s something you could do.

Go well and go gently with yourself

and remember

When you thrive your business can too!

Dr Hayley D Quinn
The Anti-Burnout Business Coach | Speaker | Podcast Host | former Clinical Psychologist