Menno is a hair salon and community space in Midtown Sacramento. Founded in 2025, Menno was an idea born from a combined love for beauty and wellness, with a deep understanding that both are intrinsically linked. Their mission is to create a fun, peaceful and approachable space where all individuals feel seen, celebrated, safe, and rejuvenated.
I brought the Menno visual brand to life in April of 2025.
Scope: 1 month
Software used: Adobe Illustrator
Team of stakeholders:
Shalya Wynne (Co-Founder)
Ali Clifford (Co-Founder)
My role: Brand Designer
Shalya Wynne (Co-Founder)
Ali Clifford (Co-Founder)
My role: Brand Designer
Before meeting in-person with Shayla and Ali to discuss their vision for Menno, I developed a questionnaire to lay the groundwork of bringing their visual brand to life. On this form, they answered questions like, "What are your values.", "What tangible and intangible benefits will Menno bring to its clients?", and I even narrowed in on their brand "archetype" (the Jester Creator).
This questionnaire covered a lot of ground before we started discussing their ideas for visuals. Shayla reflected that it was super helpful to have such an organized way to lay out all of their thoughts and ideas, and really hone in on "who" Menno is. Together, over coffee, we went through the questionnaire and I was able to "meet" the Menno brand for the first time.
The name "Menno" came from the way Sacramentans pronounce "Sacramenno." They wanted their brand to become a staple in the amazing small-business community in Sacramento.
Prior to meeting, they also sent me their Pinterest moodboard which allowed me to start creating my own moodboard. We went through both of these together and they started to pull out visuals, color palettes, and an overall visual scheme that resonated the most. Below is my final moodboard.
Shayla and Ali's ideal clientele "travel, read, move their bodies, like to talk about the “real-life” stuff (politics, sex, philosophy, you name it), and are chasing a deep understanding of self and the world around them." Not only were they building a salon, but they also offer wellness services like head spas, reiki, and sound baths. They wanted their clients to feel light, beautiful, comfortable and relaxed. Their brand needed to be approachable, community-oriented, fun and high-end, but NOT stuffy. The visuals had to combine fashion and beauty with mental/spiritual wellness.
Based on this information, I developed two draft branding concepts for them to pick and choose from.
Option 1
Option 2
It was decided that Option 1 was a better match to what they envisioned for their brand, and they didn't request many changes. I got to work finalizing the details, laying out color variations, and adding a set of illustrations. Below is their final brand style guide.
Overall, I am proud of the balance I was able to strike between approachability and high-end quality. I was also able to capture Sacramento's essence in the palm tree and camellia flower details. Shayla and Ali were overjoyed with the end result and even used my designs to decorate their space and really bring the "Mennoverse", as they like to call it, to life! Seeing my brand design taken one step further like this, from simple graphic design, to what will certainly become a household name in Sacramento was most rewarding of all.
A mural of one of my illustrations was painted on a wall in the salon.
P.S. In July 2025, I designed a round of merchandise for Menno. You can learn more about that here.
