From a Falling Leaf to a Brand Reborn

The Trigger Story

The spark didn't come from a forest walk or a real leaf drifting in the wind. It came from something far less profound — a short clip we stumbled across on Instagram. The reel itself wasn't the origin, though. It was actually from The Fall (2023), an award-winning short film by Desirae Witte. In it, Leafie — a plucky little maple leaf who loves to groove — takes a dramatic tumble from its branch, turning an ordinary fall into something that feels like the end of the world.

It was funny, even ridiculous. But in the middle of the humor, something clicked: even a leaf falling can feel dramatic when we shift perspective. For the tree, it's ordinary. For the leaf, it's everything.

That absurd little clip made us see growth in a new light. It isn't always linear or glamorous. Sometimes it's small, messy — even silly. But it matters. That realization became the unexpected seed of our rebrand — much like what researchers describe as an "Aha! moment," when a tiny cue suddenly shifts how we see a problem.

Centuries earlier, a falling apple led Isaac Newton to uncover gravity — a universal force that shapes everything. For us, it wasn't an apple, but a leaf. Not falling with weight, but drifting with rhythm. And in that difference, we saw another universal force: growth.

"What Newton revealed was gravity. What we uncovered was growth."

The Gap We Saw

Our philosophy was strong, but it wasn't obvious. Our old identity spoke about growth, yet it didn't embody it:

• The logo was functional, but lacked philosophy.
• The colors looked appealing, but didn't carry meaning.
• The typography was clear, but it lacked expressive rhythm.

In short, our brand was saying the right words but not living them.

And this gap mattered. If we wanted to help others grow with honesty and clarity, we first had to hold ourselves to the same standard. Research on branding shows that when identity and philosophy align, trust and loyalty deepen. Our philosophy couldn't just sit in workshops, on decks, or in conversations. It needed to breathe through every dot, color, word, and space.

That realization pushed us to take a more critical and honest look at ourselves. We weren't just rebranding — we were rebuilding, so that what we believe and what we show could finally grow together.

Between what we believed and what we showed, a gap had formed. Something had to grow through.

The Discovery: Truths of Growth

That funny falling leaf video may have been absurd, but it helped us name what we had always believed about growth. From that spark came the Three Truths of Growth:

• Growth is Universal. One spark leads to another. Growth doesn't happen in isolation; it ripples outward, from an individual to a team, from a team to a nation, from a nation to the world.
• Growth is Cyclical. A leaf doesn't fall in a straight line. It sways, circles, loops. Growth follows the same rhythm — not a tidy upward line, but seasons of rise, fall, and return.
• Growth is Honest. For the tree, a leaf falling is ordinary. For the leaf, it's dramatic. Growth is the same: messy, human, imperfect, but no less real.

These truths became our compass — not just for strategy, but for identity.

"Growth is universal, cyclical, and honest."

Brand Essence: Human, Clever, Unconventional

If the Truths of Growth are our compass, the Brand Essence is our lens — it shapes how we show up and connect. These three traits guide not just how TUMBUH looks, but also how we write, speak, and act.

• Human → plain, empathetic, people-first. We avoid jargon and polish in favor of clarity and honesty.
• Clever → sharp, practical, creative. Our work isn't about looking smart; it's about making growth useful.
• Unconventional → fresh, bold, grounded. We embrace asymmetry, imperfection, and surprising choices, rather than playing it safe.

This essence flows through everything — from the imperfect "T" in our logo to the tone of our writing. It's why our identity doesn't just look different; it sounds different too.

Rebuilding Everything

Naming the truths wasn't enough. To close the gap, we had to rebuild our identity so that growth wasn't just something we talked about — it was something you could see, feel, and experience in every detail. Design-system research shows that coherence across elements creates trust and clarity for users.

Like most real journeys, we didn't get here in one straight line. The first version of our new identity looked good, but it didn't yet carry philosophy. So we stepped back and asked the hardest question: "Why do we exist?"

In the middle of that very discussion, we "took a break" and scrolled through social media — supposedly "for inspiration" (and if you're a digital marketer, you know what that really means). That's when the falling leaf video appeared. Almost casually, it sparked a bigger realization — one that helped us see growth differently, revealed the Truths of Growth, and shaped our Brand Essence.

Once those anchors were clear, we rebuilt everything from scratch. Even the last details — like the Emerald adjustment — only came after dozens of sketches, tests, and long nights.

Here's the quick reveal:

The Logo

Growth in form. Our logo isn't decoration — it's a system built with intention. At its core, the logo condenses our philosophy into form. Every part has meaning:

• The Circle → cyclical, continuity. Nothing grows in straight lines; the Circle represents cycles, returns, and renewals — the rhythm of growth.
• The T → honest anchor. Custom, uneven, nudged slightly left. It breathes. It grounds. It refuses perfection for perfection's sake. Like growth itself, it is strong because it is honest.
• The Dots → universality. Equal in size, aligned on the Circle's path, with Violet always at the center. To follow the Circle's rhythm, Emerald and Coral are flipped in sequence — a deliberate adaptation. Together they remind us: when one part grows, it sparks growth in the whole.
• The Wordmark ("UMBUH") → clarity in name, placed with intentional imbalance against the T.
• The Descriptor ("Growth Consultant") → aligned with the Dots, making our promise always visible.

Nothing here is decoration. Together, these parts form one system, reminding us that growth is universal, cyclical, and honest.

The Logo: Growth in Form

The Colors

Growth in meaning. Our colors moved from "nice to look at" to intentional anchors. Coral stands for human connection. Emerald signals honest progress. Violet reflects cycles and reflection. Ember drives action. Aqua sparks exploration and curiosity.

Alongside these, a set of base colors — Eggshell, Cloud, Navy, Slate, Charcoal, and Frost — provides structure and balance, ensuring the system works everywhere from slides to screens. Together, they give rhythm to how we show up — not just a palette, but a living system of meaning.

And behind the palette is intention, too: every shade was tested for contrast to meet WCAG accessibility standards, ensuring both readability and expression.

The Colors: Growth in Meaning

The Typography

Growth in voice. Our typefaces give rhythm to how we speak visually. Poppins carries headlines with bold, human clarity. Inter flows through body text — approachable and connective. Source Code Pro anchors precision and insight wherever detail matters.

Together, they strike a balance between clarity and character, crafting a cadence that feels both structured and human.

The Typography: Growth in Voice

The Layout & Rhythm

Growth in rhythm. Layout is where everything comes together. White space became breathing space. Headings carry dual-color accents to show movement. And asymmetry keeps things unconventional yet grounded.

The result isn't decoration — it's clarity in motion, a rhythm that makes every page, slide, or backdrop feel intentional and alive.

The Layout: Growth in Rhythm

Before & After

This wasn't a cosmetic update. It was alignment — every detail rethought so our brand could finally embody the truths and essence we uncovered.

Not just a new look: a shift from random design choices to a living system of meaning.

From Belief to Practice

Naming the Truths and shaping the Essence was one thing. Living them was another. To make sure this rebrand wasn't just words on a page, we applied our own framework — the CGO-Lite Framework:

• Explore: Aligning ourselves around the Three Truths and the Brand Essence.
• Vision: Establishing what the new identity needed to embody.
• Test: Running through dozens of sketches, palettes, and layouts.
• Act: Refining them into a coherent system.
• Reflect: Stepping back — again and again — until it felt alive in every touchpoint.

The process wasn't linear or glamorous. Some nights we scrapped entire directions. Some mornings, we swapped colors at the last minute.

The rebrand itself became a proof of concept. By applying our own framework to ourselves, we demonstrated that it isn't abstract — it produces clarity, consistency, and a system that actually works.

We weren't just rebranding. We were aligning belief and practice so they could finally grow together — and we believe yours can too.

Closing

A falling leaf — beautifully brought to life in The Fall; first seen as a joke, then as a spark — became something more: a clear line back to why we exist, and what we believe about growth.

This rebrand isn't an endpoint. It's a living system that helps us show up honestly, act boldly, and keep learning. And to be honest, looking at the whole process we went through, we weren't changing how we looked — we were aligning what we believed with how we moved, so they could finally grow together. And we believe yours can too.

The leaf may have landed here, but the story didn't stop. Next came the sketches, the chaos, and the long nights of trying to turn that spark into a system that could actually hold it. We called it honest design — though some nights it felt more like survival.

→ Part 2: "What Our Rebrand Taught Us About Honest Design" launches that chapter.

What might your spark look like? Share your thoughts below — we love turning small sparks into big growth.