Provenance Soapworks

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This beautiful project came to me all the way from the historic district of St. Charles, Missouri! The owners of this endearing soap shop were in need for new branding that could visually communicate their handcrafted bushiness. Through my process of getting to know each client and their specific needs and desires I was able to nail down a few "aesthetic themes" as a starting place. "Modern apothecary",  "natural ingredients", "classic", "elegant" and "clean", were all important descriptions that needed to be represented in this logo. My client also wanted to incorporate foliage of some kind into their visual branding, so I sketched out a few leaves and branches to help associate the "natural ingredients" part of their products. As I started sketching I realized I wanted the foliage piece to be neutral, not too fall, winter, or spring. It was important to create a logo that could easily brand their business, their regular product line, and their seasonal line without going over board one way or the other.
   I love when clients want and understand the value of additional branding elements to go along side their logo. In this case PS (short for Provenance Soapworks) is an element they use quite often on their products and throughout their store. I came up with two different designs for the PS, one simple almost like a mark or seal that they could actually stamp into their products, and the other more whimsical and elegant. 
   I look forward to seeing the many new and classic products Provenance Soapworks will roll out over the coming years, knowing they have a branding that will withstand the test of time.
   

In it, to win it!

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Of course, at the end of the day the goal of this project was to help Stephanie get elected and grab a seat on the Waco ISD school board. (Which she did. Yay!) I played the role of creating some great eye-catching and consistent marketing material for her campaign.

From the beginning it was important that whatever she put out for the public to see needed to be noticed, relatable, and memorable.  I wanted it to have a different look and feel from the typical red and blue political campaign, but not go too far out there. The first idea I came up with was to communicate her "resume" to the public using simple graphics and attractive colors so that her target audience would be visually interested and engaged. Everything I created needed to be attractive to both students in the school district, teenagers, parents and teachers. It was important that no matter who came across Stephanie's campaign material, they could relate to it in some way.

I thought it was important to have her picture and first name on everything from yard signs to direct mailers to her social media content. The reason being was in most political campaigns, the candidates are referred to by their last name, which is usually the most prominent focus, and doesn't naturally create a sense of "knowing the person". I decided to go a different direction with the vision being personal, approachable, memorable, and friendly. Therefore, we used Stephanie's first name and photo as the more prominent focus of this campaign, with the hope that it would draw people in and create more "personal, memorable" interaction. My motivation behind it was, when it came time for the public to vote (whether they knew Stephanie or not) they would be more inclined to vote for "Stephanie" –  the friendly, approachable, contributor to the community that they had become acquainted with through her campaign material.

Brand Identity : Emporium Pies

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Who doesn't love a great brand?! Im sure each of us have at least 3-5 brands that we admire, enjoy, and don't mind spending our time or money with. We return to that brand over and over because they have somehow built a relationship with us.  It may be through their products, their customer service, or their mission and messaging.  Hopefully it's all of the above.

A brand is more than a logo or a website, it is also your mission, your intention and the value you add to your customer’s experience on a consistent bases.  Heidi Cohen of Riverside Marketing Strategies defines a brand as;

A brand creates emotional bonds with consumers. Brands are composed of intangible elements related to its specific promise, personality, and positioning and tangible components having identifiable representation including logos, graphics, colors and sounds. A brand creates perceived value for consumers through its personality in a way that makes it stand out from other similar products. Its story is intricately intertwined with the public’s perception and consistently provides consumers with a secure sense that they know what they’re paying for. In a world where every individual is also a media entity, your consumers own your brand (as it always was).  

So yes, in regards to brands I wanted to share with you one local brand that I personally think is doing an outstanding job. I recently spent the afternoon in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas with my sister in law, who thankfully took me to Emporium Pies, a local pie shop in that neighborhood. I was very impressed and inspired by their brand through and through. I walked into this little house and was immediately transported to the "good ol' days" when life was simple, but still full of rich relationships and meaningful traditions. Emporium Pies invites you into their brand with every personal touch and well thought out detail of their business from the moment you enter to the moment you depart.

One aspect of their business that stands out {and I love}, is that all of their pies are handmade and all of their menu items change seasonally. Their pies contain no artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oils, dyes, or corn syrup. Now that is attention to detail and it adds value for a lot of their customers {like me}, making the quality of their product a very important part of their brand. 

photo credit : Paul Wilkes 

Also, the handmade touches and attention to detail are carried throughout their visual branding as well.  As a graphic designer, one of the first things I noticed was their logo and the paper stock they have their marketing material printed on {Im guessing it's Neenah, pearlized 80# cover}, and they have added gold foiling. Their packaging stands alone and is also put together by hand, one at a time, right in front of you. Each piece is stamped with their logo, tied up with bakers twine, and placed into a woven pie basket. It's pretty special. Their team also has a huge roll to play. The way they greet and serve their customers, along with their cute personal style adds to the overall customer experience and personality of the Emporium Pie brand.

graphic design credit : Scott Hill and the Foundry Collective

A few other fun items to note :
— Their hand written notes sprinkled throughout the shop are clever. When you walk onto the porch you are greeted with a little sign that says, "Welcome to our Pie Shop. Please keep the door shut, so it doesn't become a fly shop." It’s whimsical, full of personalty, and captures a bit of who these ladies are.
— The Drunken Nut pie is really good!
— The vintage art prints in the shop are beautiful.
— And lastly, if you dine in, you pretty much feel like you are sitting in someone's home,
{in the best way} down to the dishes!

Now, don't you just want to take a road trip and snag some Emporium Pie right this instant!?
Do it!

What are some of your favorite brands that are capturing your attention? I would love to know!

CLIENT STORY : No place like Home

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There’s no place like home, and my client Pam Tucker knows that for a fact. Pam is a local real estate agent specializing inluxury homes. For years Pam has been helping her clients find their dream home with customer service that goes above and beyond. One of the things I respect about Pam is that she is innovative in the way she does business and markets herself, so I knew working with her was going to be a great project.

Pam’s old marketing materials didn’t represent the quality and service that she offers her clients. She was also adding a moving truck to her real estate service. This truck would be free for her clients to use as they got ready to sell and pack up their home - how genius right?!?! This natural transition in her business was the perfect time to transition her visual branding as well. It was time to get rid of the primary red and blue she had been using and introduce a fresh and updated look. We began to work together to create solid visually brand that could grow with her business.

This process was a couple months long from our first meeting until the completed wrapped truck pulled into her driveway. Since Pam works with Coldwell Banker, (a brand and logo that need to be on everything she put out there) picking the right color palette to complement that current look was extremely important. We still wanted her brand to stand alone and be unique while being able to pair great with the visual branding of Coldwell. As I was meeting with Pam at her office, I started to look around and notice a repeat of some of the same colors over and over again. Her picture frames, pillows, art and even the clothes she was wearing all had touches of gold turquoise, corals, and neutrals in them. Since we are literally branding Pam Tucker, I thought that the colors surrounding her would be a good place to start. I came up with about four different color palette options to present to Pam. Each of them had a shade of turquoise/aqua and a shade of gold which complemented the Coldwell blue.

The other key component of Pam’s rebrand was to visually communicate Pam’s specialty in the luxury housing market. Kendra Scott and Tory Burch immediately came to mind as successful business women who were in the luxury market also. Both of these women's brands are very recognizable and are well known for quality and esthetic. I began to get inspired and brainstorm how I could create something similar for Pam.

I sketched out a couple different "fancy" looking marks that could be paired with her name to communicate that luxury feel she was going for. However, Pam wanted to see an actual house or key of some kind to represent luxury homes with he rname. Listening to my client’s desires and combining them with my knowledge of marketing and graphic design is always important  to me.  In the end we decided to stick with a couple clean flourish/marks, that were not so literal and that satisfied both of us. With a finished logos, I was able to restructure new layouts of her marketing pieces (direct mailers, flyers, stationery, etc. ) to match this clean, simple, and sophisticated identity.

The moving truck had to be considered a huge billboard that was easy to read and clearly communicated Pam’s services. As a graphic designer I loved getting to work on such a fun canvas. Pam and I are both proud of how her new visual branding and marketing materials came together in the end. I look forward to seeing Pam continue to expand her business and continue to grow her brand in Central Texas!

CLIENT STORY : Local Bridge Inspired Visual Branding

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Rio Brazos has been a well established caterer for years. With a reputation and a recognized name throughout Waco and central Texas, the design challenge was not to stray too far away from what is already so known. Originally, Rio Brazos wanted a logo that said "Waco" and therefore incorporated the city's suspension bridge. However, their old logo didn't exactly represent the catering side of their company along with the idea of it being local (Waco). Through our discussions about the rebrand, incorporating the suspension bridge was still a desire of high priority for them; therefore, tying in the food aspect was going to be necessary and the challenge.  
   For me, the sketching/brainstorming process seemed like it went on for hours and days. Even without a pencil in hand, I was still drawing and playing with ideas in my head trying to feel this one out. I wanted to try and illustrate the artistic and creative thought behind how they prepare their food and menus as well as tie in their foundation of classic, traditional cuisine. The sketchy, whimsical bridge paired with the strong, clean lines of the typography coincide perfectly, just like fine ingredients complimenting each other in a delicious dish. In coming up with the colors, I had fun being inspired by classic, rich ingredients such as cream and cinnamon. When I think of classic cooking, I often think of copper pots and pans and therefore wanted to incorporate the richness of the copper foiling. 
   I am happy with the way this logo turned out and how it represents Rio Brazos Cuisine for being established in Waco and for being about the creative pallet. 

A Beautiful Resource with Gold Foil

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The inaugural volume of The Kindred. We wondered if it was possible to create  something so lovely in such a small city. Thank you for helping us exceed people’s  expectations of the level of beauty this town can create. With this book we are hoping to provide the ultimate resource for Waco weddings and events. The best of the best.  Thoughtfulness, integrity, and unleashed creativity was poured into each page of this book. In our industry, there is nothing like a referral from someone in the know. We consider The Kindred to be the loveliest version of “word of mouth”. We give this book to each of our clients and the other members of the Kindred do the same. Our goal is to not simply refer each other but also to build community within the event industry.

Your Company Logo

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Your logo is not your brand.
Your logo is not your identity.
Your logo identities your company in it’s simplest form, and what your logo means is important.

Here are a few helpful questions I ask my clients.

> What is your companies mission and vision?
> What words best describe your business?
> What do you want your logo and the elements we create to say about you and your business?  
   What does it need to communicate to your audience?  

CLIENT STORY : Prism Logo Inspiration

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A big part of my job that is always exciting, challenging, and new every time is the "art" of communicating visually who someone is and what their business is about.  Graphics, illustration, typography, and photos can all help tell that story.  This project is a perfect example of that welcomed challenge.
   Heather is a photographer out of Lubbock Texas, and after talking to her for 5 minutes, I felt like I really knew her. She is a very colorful, warm, friendly person who puts much thought and detail into her business and into her client relationships. Not only is she bright and full of life, but her work is too.
She is a lover of color! Throughout my client questionnaire, the word color was in almost every one of her answers. Heather really wanted her logo and new visual branding to represent her zeal for life and her passion for what she does. Her favorite colors are pink, coral, and turquoise, and she really wanted those tied into her logo somewhere.
   As I began to play with colors and textures for her logo, I was really inspired by the inner workings of a camera and how it captures light. The camera captures the angle, color, and brightness of every ray of light within each frame, as well as the perspective and depth. To me that seemed to not only represent what Heather does, but also who she is. Heather also had a desire to represent some of the people who are very near to her, who have helped her get to where she is today. Although I wanted to give her that, I didn't want those elements to compete with the logo itself and cause it to become too much or over-designed. Instead, I designed some additional elements for her to use throughout her site and among her other marketing materials that can still fully tell her story and represent her in the little added details.