Designing a Brand Identity for a REAL Client!

Summary

This video walks through the entire process of transforming a business's brand identity. It follows a branding designer as they work with Molly and Jake, owners of a polymer clay business, from the initial discovery call to the final handoff of brand assets. The designer explains their approach to understanding the client's vision, creating a customized proposal, and conducting strategy calls. They develop a unique logo, color palette, and illustrations, ensuring the brand's distinctiveness. The video offers insights into the brand design process, emphasizing client collaboration and the creation of a cohesive visual identity.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker helped Molly and Jake, the owners of a polymer clay business, design a new brand identity.
• 📞 A discovery call was scheduled to gather information about the business, its goals, and deliverables.
• 🛠 The business primarily sells clay cutters for earrings and a kit for making earrings, and their goal is to increase sales and consistency.
• 🎨 The client requested logo design, fonts, colors, packaging elements, and a pattern for their branding.
• 📝 After the call, the speaker created a project proposal, which was accepted by the clients.
• 💻 A client portal was set up to manage the project, including invoices, contracts, and tasks like filling out a questionnaire and scheduling a strategy call.
• 📊 During the strategy call, the speaker focused on identifying the brand's mission, target audience, and competitors to build a comprehensive brand strategy.
• 🎭 Two mood boards were presented to offer different visual directions, with the client choosing one but requesting more pinks and oranges.
• ✏️ A custom logo type was designed from scratch, incorporating playful and handmade elements that tied back to the business's products.
• 🏁 After finalizing the logo suite, illustrations, color palette, and making revisions, the project was completed, with the files and brand guidelines delivered through the client portal.

Q & A

Who are the main subjects of this brand identity project?

The main subjects are Molly and Jake, the owners of a polymer clay business who reached out for help in designing their new brand identity.

What is the primary focus of Molly and Jake's business?

Their primary focus is selling tools, especially clay cutters, for people interested in making clay earrings. They also sell a kit that contains everything needed to make 40 pairs of earrings.

What were the main goals of Molly and Jake’s business at the time of the project?

Their main goal was to grow their market for the earring-making kit and to increase consistency in sales, converting more customers regularly.

What were the project deliverables requested by the clients?

The deliverables included a logo, color palette, fonts, a sub-logo for packaging, and a background pattern for their website and packaging.

What system did the designer use for managing the project with the clients?

The designer used a client portal created in Notion, a project management system that served as a centralized hub for all project information and communication.

What two key areas did the designer research to create the brand strategy?

The designer focused on brand foundations, which involved the brand's story, mission, and values, and brand positioning, which included analyzing competitors, defining the target audience, and identifying the brand’s personality traits.

What were the two moodboards created for the visual identity of the brand?

The first moodboard featured fun, flowing typography, while the second used bold sans-serif type. Both had different color palettes and illustration styles to give the clients options for their visual identity.

What feedback did the clients provide after reviewing the moodboards?

The clients liked the first moodboard but wanted to incorporate more oranges and pinks from the second moodboard. The designer adjusted the creative direction accordingly.

How was the logo design made unique to reflect the business's products?

The designer created the logo type completely from scratch to give it a handmade, playful feel. Elements like the loop of the 'L' were designed to look like an earring hook, and the letters 'and Co' were placed strategically to highlight the playful nature of the brand.

What final deliverables did the designer hand over to the clients at the end of the project?

The final deliverables included a logo suite, color palette, illustrations, and a brand guidelines document. The designer also provided the files through the client portal and offered support for font licenses and project feedback.