Branding

Testudo Advisory - Branding

Thought Partnership for Business Leaders

Testudo Advisory partners with executives and investors to build thriving businesses while maintaining balanced happy lives. Part business coach, and part therapist, Testudo’s team re-programs leaders to have the well-being and stamina to win in the long game in business.

The founder of Testudo offered us two sources of inspiration for the logo mark. One visual he really loved was the endless loops of Celtic knots. These infinite woven patterns, which seem to have no beginning or end, symbolize a spiritual journey and interconnectedness.

The second visual came from the brand name ‘Testudo’, which literally means "tortoise" or "tortoise shell," in Latin, and refers to the Roman military formation where soldiers overlapped their shields overhead for protection. Using imagery of turtles and turtle shells, mixed with imagery of Celtic knots, we came up with the sketches below.

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Two pieces of paper hung on a white wall, the one on the right shows the initial rough sketches for the Testudo branding project. On the right is the chosen mark which looks like a mix of a turtle and a celtic knot, shown in outlines. — Logo design sketches for Testudo by the talented Jesse Pales (left).
The chosen logo mark was then refined and gridded (right).

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Typography

The logotype we chose is Marion, crafted by Canadian designer Ray Larabie and released by Typodermic in 2006, Marion draws from 18th-19th century neoclassical roots like early Bookman cuts, it mixes Baskerville's math-like precision with a casual finish. Standout traits of this font include hammer-claw serifs, blunt letter curls. We felt it matched the classic Celtic mountain motif nicely.

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Testudo Color Scheme

Inspired by photos of mountains, the testudo color scheme features snowy whites, pine-inspired greens, a cold slate blue, and gets warmed up with an earthy brown which makes the palette feel more grounded (pun intended).

We named the green after Ireland's only native pine tree the 'Scots Pine' (Pinus sylvestris), also known asGius in Gaelic. This species was one of the first trees to colonize Ireland after the last Ice Age, around 12,000 years ago!

We created the color scheme in September of 2025, and coincidentally our 'snow white' is eerily similar to the 2026 Pantone color of the year (cloud dancer), which was announced shortly afterwards.

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