Brief

for this brief I have decided to do brand identity. I have a strong interest in creating logos, colour schemes and working with fonts in order to create strong looks for businesses. I have previously studied business studies and feel like I have knowledge in what it takes to create a successful brand.

Nowadays there is a huge community for online businesses. Anyone can have a business, selling whatever they think will sell. It’s sometimes hard to find what you’re looking for, something that looks professional and has a high standard of quality.

My Project aim

There is a local business in the area that I live – ‘Ohh Sew Pretty’. The creator is a woman called Karen Thomas. She creates handmade items for your home, ranging from crocheted items such as blankets, hats, headbands, tea cozies etc. She also does a lot of sewing and creates personalized gifts like bunting, pictures, and cushions.

My aim is to create a brand for the business to help her stand out from the crowd. Her work is really beautiful and well made, I feel like she isn’t recognized enough as she doesn’t get her work out there other than Facebook. She has little to no brand and I feel that I could make her business look more professional by creating a logo, graphics, packaging and open up other platforms of selling to expand her consumer market.

I plan to analyse why there is so many businesses on Facebook, how and why certain ones are more successful than others, and if there are more ways of making the business grow outside of Facebook.

Deliverables

• A strong brand for the business including
  • Logo
  • Font
  • Colour scheme
  • Packaging
  • Gift vouchers
  • Receipts
  • Style guide

• A new platform for her to sell her items
  • A website
  • An app

• New innovative ways of marketing and advertising her business
  • Posters
  • Competitions
  • Offers
  • Business cards/letterheads/stationary
  • Advertisements
  • Signage

Research

Things to think about 

-Font

I played about with some fonts i had in my fontbook. These are a few of my favourites and could maybe combine some together.

These fonts are similar in that they look handwritten, I think this style would tie in really well with her products.


-Colour scheme

I looked at the colours that seem to be used quite often in her work. Theres a lot of warm tones used like reds and pinks, complimented with green and sometimes navy and blues. She uses cream and neutral tones to break up the colours, using different textures and materials for her work. 

-Patterns

Karen does lot of crochet and sewing, i could take some techniques she uses in her work to create a logo or packaging. for example, she crochets granny squares to make blankets, cushions, lamp shades etc, I could do something with this pattern like create a subtle background.

I love how she uses embroidery hoops to frame her work, I could maybe do something with this shape? 




-Packaging

At the minute Karen uses brown paper bags when she sells her products, stamped with a sewing machine, I think its really cute and goes with her products, it has that handmade feel. However i think something along these lines but done graphically with her own logo would compliment her professional work better.

-Logo


I think when creating a logo for this type of business, the font i use will be very important. It needs to reflect her style and be strong enough to look professional and be memorable. Ive seen a few ideas that I like but I think I could play about a bit more and incorporate the tools that she actually uses to create her products.

INTRO- deciding what brief

We have 3 briefs to choose from - 

-Brand Identity
-Graphics/Illustration - mapping the city
-App design - make student life easier

The one i initially feel drawn towards is the brand identity. Ive done similar work like this before and have enjoyed making logos and working with clients.


I feel this is something I am strong at and would love to do this as a career. I feel it would be good to get in the experience now and can do something I will really be proud of.

I have two close clients i could work with.

My Mum is a qualified nail technician and is looking to get herself out there.

The other is a local craft business called 'ohh sew pretty' that specialises in handmade items for your home, cushions, personalised bunting, crocheted blankets and hats etc.

https://www.facebook.com/karen.thomas.507?fref=ts

I feel like there would be more I could do with the craft business, I really love the items she makes, i feel like they are well made, beautiful pieces and I could incorporate her designs and products into the brand. She takes part regularly in craft fairs and has a facebook page but I think she could really benefit from having a strong look.