A New Bush Bags Logo — A Story That Goes Much Further Back Than 10 Years

After 10 years, we have decided to give the Bush Bags logo a new look.

But this isn't simply a logo change. It is a story about where we come from, the places we have travelled, the experiences that shaped Bush Bags, and most importantly, about family and the generations that follow.

It started with a name

When we started the business in 2016, the name Bush Bags was suggested by our then 18 year old daughter.

At the time, it was simply a name that felt right. It reflected our love of the outdoors and the type of rugged canvas bags we began to manufacture.

Looking back now, it feels like that name was much more significant than we realised at the time.

The word Bush in Bush Bags has always meant more to us than simply a name.

We grew up in the Kalahari, an area associated with landscapes and camel thorn trees and a unique character of South Africa. Over the years, our love for the outdoors continued through many camping and 4x4 overlanding trips.

One of those trips was to the Richtersveld in 2006.

A drawing from a nine-year-old daughter - A little tree with a big story

Shortly after that trip, our daughter — who was only 9 years old at the time — made me a present. It was a pencil drawing of a camel thorn tree, in a picture frame, and it has remained in my office ever since.

Almost 20 years later, that picture has become the inspiration behind our new logo.

That drawing has quietly been part of our family history. It represents something very special — the bush, the outdoors and the places that have always been part of our lives.

It also represents something much more personal:

a daughter's gift to her father, and after 2 decades, it has taken on a whole new meaning.

Twenty years later

At this stage, that nine-year-old girl is 29.

And just recently, she gave birth to the first grandson in our family.

Suddenly, that little tree took on an even greater meaning, it now becomes part of the identity of the business.

And a new generation became part of our family, we felt there was no better time to bring that tree into the Bush Bags story.

The new Bush Bags identity

At almost exactly the same time that our family is welcoming a new generation, we are also looking at the next chapter of Bush Bags.

When we started considering a new logo, we knew we didn't want to simply choose another generic bush or outdoor symbol.

We wanted something that actually meant something to us.

The answer was already sitting in my office.

That camel thorn tree she drew when she was nine years old is now being incorporated into the new Bush Bags logo.

It isn't there simply because a camel thorn tree looks good or because it represents the African bush.

It is there because it is our tree.

It connects our childhood in the Kalahari, our love for the outdoors, our family history, the journey of Bush Bags over the past decade, the person who, 10 years ago, suggested the name that became our brand, and now, the beginning of another generation.

More than a logo

We didn't want to change the Bush Bags logo just for the sake of having something new.

We wanted the new identity to have meaning.

The previous logo has represented Bush Bags for the past 10 years. The new one is not intended to erase that history, but to take the next step while carrying something from our past with us.

The tree reminds us that businesses, like families, grow over time.

Branches spread. New generations appear. The roots remain.

And perhaps that is what makes this particular logo so special to us.

A little girl drew a tree for her father nearly 20 years ago. 

Ten years ago, she helped give the business its name.

Today, that same girl is a mother. bringing the next generation into our family.

And the tree she drew now forms part of the identity of Bush Bags.

The new logo will retain the familiar BUSH BAGS SA identity, but with the camel thorn tree incorporated into it.

It represents a connection between generations.

From a nine-year-old girl's drawing, to a business built around the bush.

From the beginning of Bush Bags, to its next chapter.

And from one generation, to the next.

A new logo.

The same roots.