About | Stephen & Ruth

About Us

Based on the edge of the English Lake District, Stephen and Ruth are a husband and wife team who desired to create businesses which educated, equipped, and enabled others based on their values of INTEGRITY, COMPASSION and FAMILY WELL-BEING.

Over 2 decades ago, Stephen & Ruth both independently began their involvement in voluntary overseas service. Sometimes a deployment coincided with a civil war or the aftermath of one. Sometimes their visits were to children who’d been abandoned or adults who’d endured human rights abuses, but whatever the setting, and whatever they were able to achieve for others during these visits, they always felt they gained more than they gave through the experience.

Now with a young family of their own to care for, getting back into the field is not so convenient, so they continue to support individuals and organisations who are making a difference among vulnerable people by other means.

Our Stories

Ruth's Story

Ruth is a teacher by profession. Her early experience includes teaching English abroad in Asia.

Having gained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature, her Master of Arts in English Language and Linguistics, and her Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), she went into full-time teaching. Primarily, this involved teaching overseas students English as an additional language, preparing them for English examinations which would enable them to go on to do A levels in English, and preparing General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) English students for examinations in their second language.

Her work included being part of pastoral care teams, supervising and looking after students on a girl’s boarding house, and at holiday camps.

She is currently a full-time Mum looking after four children. Since gaining her Grade 8 Piano, she also enjoys teaching piano lessons part-time.

She has prepared pupils for Associated Board of Music examinations and also entered three of her pupils into the Whitehaven Musical Festival, in which one of them gained a trophy for a piano duet.

In her spare time, Ruth enjoys reading, trekking in the hills and, as a qualified lifeguard, swimming.

One of her favourite quotes comes from Walt Disney’s Aladdin:

“On a scale of one to ten, you are an eleven!”

She believes we should be the best we can be, always do our best in whatever we do.

Stephen's Story

Stephen is a chartered scientific and environmental management professional who has gained a wide-ranging appreciation of regulatory requirements, stakeholder engagement and commercial constraints in a world where environmental excellence is increasingly important to successful project delivery.

With over 25 years combined high hazard industry and regulatory experience, he brings operational, tactical and strategic experience to clients.

His approach to work involves the creation of space for real dialogue to allow the trust to develop in the teams he leads and clients he supports. This approach has resulted in numerous commendations.

For a decade he has volunteered as a Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) Ambassador to schools by bringing real-world problems for pupils to experience and solve.

As a qualified fitness instructor, he enjoys bodyweight training at home with his four daughters, including being a donkey for donkey rides.

One of his favourite quotes comes from a devotional he read one sunrise whilst serving in Africa as a teenager:

“As we meet and touch each day
The many travellers on life’s way
Let every such brief contact be
An encouraging helpful ministry”

For him, it confirmed his sense that we are all travellers on a journey, and that no matter how brief our contact with another, we can encourage and help someone take their next step on life’s journey through a simple brief word or silent act of encouragement.

Our Values

We all have values which we live by.

These are our key values which act as a compass to direct our brand:

Integrity
Compassion
Family well-being
Resilience
Listening
Learning
Awareness
Service
Communication
Support

About Our Brands

About the Stephen & Ruth Brand

“A brand which stands the test of time and earns consumer loyalty isn’t just about an expensive, sleek looking website, the true winning factor is coming from a place of genuine integrity that flows seamlessly through your entire business. What cuts through the usual digital noise is the genuine and original, a brand needs heart to really make its mark. So it’s been an exciting journey of personal and professional discovery working with Stephen and Ruth to create their unique online brand identity based on their unique biographies, values and purpose.”

Alex Eastman, Platinum Brand Incubator Director

Logo

Learning, Communication, Support
Stephen & Ruth’s mission is “To kindle discovery of purpose through creation and provision of educational and tactical resources, which encourage and enable fellow travellers from all walks of life to enjoy the journey”. The brand’s logo encapsulates this mission perfectly, showing a vibrant, orange path that leads towards the sun – representative of a warm, fulfilling life journey. Meanwhile, the mountain and peaks are symbolic of challenges and opportunities ahead. Taking the form of a badge, the logo is symbolic of integrity, service, support and resilience. It also has a connection with Stephen & Ruth’s teaching past.

It’s clear that success and achievement is important to Stephen & Ruth. The pair have both earned accreditations in various areas of their lives and have led others to accomplishment too. The badge design also encapsulates this; their brand is another symbol of achievement, and their logo can be seen as their badge of honour that can be shared and passed on to their clients. The direction taken is strong in style, shape, colour and form, and will no doubt inspire the desired mindset and vision for Stephen & Ruth’s brand.

Typography

Museo Sans Rounded
Museo Sans Rounded is a Sans Serif font with rounded characteristics to align with Stephen & Ruth’s compassion, family awareness, communication and approachability. The font is easy to read and is available in multiple different weights.This is a great typeface for Stephen & Ruth, symbolising the integrity and support they share with people every day.

Primary Colour

Primary Colour
This navy blue aligns perfectly with Stephen & Ruth’s values. The dark tones of this colour symbolise the brand’s integrity and intelligence, demonstrating the opportunity to learn and develop when working with the pair. Blue is also symbolic of compassion, which is another key value of Stephen & Ruth’s – reinforcing their ability to listen and support people, and to help them achieve their goals.

Secondary Colours

Secondary Colours
This vibrant orange selected for Stephen & Ruth not only creates a bold contrast against the navy blue, but also encapsulates the brand’s values further, adding a positive, warm burst of colour. It’s courageous, confident and uplifting, much like Stephen & Ruth themselves.
We’ve also added a neutral colour to complete the palette: a cool, pale grey.
This grey is the colour of stone, representing resilience and support, and can be used on a practical level to tone down the vibrant blue and orange.

Web Banner

This banner has been created with full consideration of Stephen & Ruth’s core values. For example, the simplicity and rawness of it highlights Stephen & Ruth’s integrity, and the warmth yet sturdiness of the mountains represents the compassion and resilience of this brand. At the same time, the figure that can be seen standing on a mountain personifies the client. The sturdy mountain is giving support for growth, while the light source in the distance offers guidance for success – should the figure follow this path, they will reach their ultimate destination and life fulfilment. The openness of the imagery communicates how Stephen & Ruth give their full awareness and attention to each client by listening and learning, as every client is important to them.

Social Media

For display on YouTube, banners need to be resized, which can mean rearranging elements. With Stephen & Ruth’s independent and authentic YouTube banner, we’ve tried to avoid this as much as possible. Instead, we’ve retained the style, impact and values of the web banner, successfully maintaining brand consistency.