Ari came to me with a simple request: she needed custom branding for her business. It had to be unique, so that she would stand out from the crowd of other illustrators and artists, and it had to be broad enough to apply to any other work she takes on, like her writing. Ari's brand had to be magical and whimsical, with a modern touch. She is absolutely anti-AI, so a sense of genuine humanity and trust needed to be established visually.
So I got to work researching how other artists branded themselves. After our initial meeting and discussion, I researched her top competitors to see what was working for them. I used that information to develop a strategic visual plan to set her apart from her competitors. I made mood boards, mind maps, logo ideations, and worked my way through the creative process.
The project mood board, approved by Ari.
Ari wanted her brand to feel whimsical, magical, and honest. I captured these feelings in the color palette, using greens and browns to convey a sense of responsibility and trustworthiness, as well as in the brand pattern, which is showcased at the end of this study.
This is the result: a cohesive, responsive logo suite and brand guide, designed to stand out among her competitors.
The primary logo, used wherever possible.
The secondary logo, used when the primary does not fit.
The submark logo, used when the primary and secondary do not fit.
The logo mark, used when all other variations do not fit.
In addition, I designed her a versatile brand pattern that she can use to further brand her content. This pattern is made up of several constellations - Draco, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Leo Minor - as well as a star icon to space everything out. Ari listed these constellations as being very important to her, so I wanted to include them. The magic and whimsy of Ari's brand is visually shown through this pattern, as well as her logos and color palette.
Ari's brand pattern in several variations.