There’s something really special about working with a woman who knows exactly what she’s been called to do but doesn’t yet have the visual identity to match the vision in her heart.
That was Sherry Ristau when she came to us.
Sherry was building something brand new: Amethyst Bold, a leadership community for Christian women, many of them transitioning out of corporate life and into entrepreneurship. She had the mission. She had the message. She had the fire. What she didn’t have was a brand or a website to bring it all to life.
Starting from absolute zero isn’t easy. But here’s what I’ve learned after years of working with women entrepreneurs who are building from the ground up: when branding for women entrepreneurs is done with intention and strategy, it doesn’t just look good. It gives you the confidence and clarity to actually show up and do the thing you were made to do.
This is the story of how we built Amethyst Bold from nothing into a fully realized brand and website.
The Vision Behind Amethyst Bold
Sherry’s vision was clear from the start: she wanted to create a safe, warm, faith-based space where women could find community, mentorship, and encouragement as they navigated major life transitions. Many of her ideal clients were women leaving the corporate world, stepping into entrepreneurship, and looking for a tribe that understood the intersection of faith and business.
The name itself, Amethyst Bold, carried meaning. Amethyst has long been associated with clarity, calm, and spiritual growth. Bold reflected the courage it takes to step into something new. Together, they painted the picture of a brand that would be both grounding and empowering.
Our job was to take that feeling and translate it into a visual identity and digital presence that would make women feel welcomed and inspired before they ever spoke to Sherry directly.
Brand Strategy: Where Every Good Brand Begins
Before we touched a single color swatch or font file, we started where we always start: strategy.
Brand design for female entrepreneurs isn’t about picking pretty colors and calling it a day. It’s about understanding who you’re serving, what you want them to feel, and how your visual identity can build trust before a single word is spoken.
For Amethyst Bold, the brand strategy session revealed a few key things:
- The audience needed to feel safe. These were women in transition, many of them leaving careers they’d built for decades. The brand needed to feel like a warm hug, not a sales pitch.
- Faith needed to be present but not heavy-handed. Sherry wanted the Christian foundation to come through in subtle, elegant ways rather than being overtly religious in the visual design.
- The brand needed to feel both grounded and aspirational. Warm enough to feel approachable, polished enough to feel credible.
These insights became the foundation for every design decision that followed.
Designing the Visual Identity
With the strategy locked in, we moved into the fun part: bringing the brand to life visually.
Color Palette
We built the palette around neutral, earthy tones with pops of amethyst purple as a signature accent. The goal was to create warmth and femininity without veering into anything overly trendy or juvenile. The purples were kept intentionally subtle, used as accents rather than a dominant color, so the overall brand felt sophisticated and grounded.
Typography
The font pairing was designed to balance elegance with boldness. We used a flowing script for “Amethyst” to convey femininity and warmth, paired with a strong, structured serif for “BOLD” to anchor the brand with confidence and authority. The contrast between the two fonts tells the brand story at a glance: soft and strong, graceful and courageous.
The Logo and the Dragonfly Cross
This is where the magic happened. One of the most meaningful elements of the Amethyst Bold brand is the dragonfly cross mark. Instead of using a traditional cross (which can sometimes feel heavy or expected), we designed a custom icon that merged the shape of a dragonfly with the form of a cross. The result was something that felt spiritual without being literal, elegant without being predictable.
The dragonfly itself carries beautiful symbolism: transformation, adaptability, and the ability to see beyond the surface. For a brand built around women in the midst of major life changes, it was the perfect motif.
Building the Website: A Digital Home for Community
With the brand identity complete, we moved into designing and building Sherry’s website. The site included five core pages: Home, About, Services, Contact, and a Thank You page.
Every page was designed with the same brand strategy in mind: make women feel safe, welcomed, and inspired to take the next step. The warm color palette, the clean layout, and the intentional use of white space all worked together to create an experience that felt like walking into a room designed just for you.
We also wrote all the website copy, making sure the messaging spoke directly to Sherry’s ideal client: the woman who knows she’s meant for more but isn’t sure where to start. Every headline, every paragraph, every call to action was crafted to meet her exactly where she was and guide her forward.
This is why I always say that a website isn’t just a collection of pretty pages. It’s a strategic tool that should be working for your business around the clock. (If you want to dig deeper into that, I wrote a whole post about why your website is your #1 sales tool.)
Thinking about building your brand from scratch?
Download our free guide: The Anatomy of a Perfect Brand to learn exactly what goes into a strong, memorable brand identity. It’s the perfect starting point if you’re in the early stages of building your business.
What This Project Teaches Us About Branding for Women Entrepreneurs
Every project teaches me something, and Amethyst Bold reinforced a few lessons that I think every woman building a business needs to hear:
Your brand should reflect your mission, not just your aesthetic preferences. It’s easy to get caught up in what you think looks pretty. But the strongest brands are built on strategy, not just style. Every color, every font, every design element should serve a purpose and connect back to who you’re trying to reach.
Starting from zero is not a disadvantage. Some of the best brands I’ve ever built were for women who came to me with nothing but a name and a calling. There’s something beautiful about a blank canvas. It means we get to build something that’s truly, completely yours from day one.
Details matter more than you think. The dragonfly cross wasn’t just a logo mark. It was a symbol that captured the entire heart of the brand in one image. Those kinds of details are what separate a forgettable brand from one that makes people stop and pay attention.
Your audience needs to feel something before they’ll do anything. If your brand doesn’t create an emotional connection, people won’t stick around long enough to learn about your services. Design is not decoration. It’s communication.
Ready to Build Your Brand?
If Sherry’s story resonates with you, if you’re a woman in the middle of building something new and you know your brand needs to match the vision in your head, I’d love to talk.
At Makena Creative, we specialize in branding for women entrepreneurs who are ready to stop blending in and start showing up with intention. Every project includes brand strategy, a complete visual identity system, a custom website, and SEO-friendly copywriting. Because looking good and being found are both non-negotiable.
Here’s how to take the next step:
- Grab the free guide: Download The Anatomy of a Perfect Brand and start mapping out your brand identity.
- See more of our work: Explore our portfolio to see the brands and websites we’ve designed for other women business owners.
- Let’s build yours: Book a connection call and let’s talk about what’s possible for your brand this spring.
You don’t have to have it all figured out to get started. You just have to be ready. And if you’re reading this, something tells me you are.
xo, Makena
