Artisticparrot Branding (2022)

Creation of multi-platform visual brand identity for personal ceramics business using traditional illustration and Adobe Illustrator

context

personal

role

graphic design, illustration, art direction

outcome

In this project, I aimed to create a unique and cohesive brand identity for my personal ceramics business that aligned with my ceramic work, and values as an artist. I designed an art direction strategy distinct to my business and applied it across contexts to web identity and print assets included with purchases to create a consistent brand experience.

Ceramic ring dish shaped like a fried egg with a face and ceramic mug that looks like a green budgie
product photos following art direction
Parrot doodles and positive affirmation sticker graphics used in branding
final brand graphics

process

My ceramic work is mainly of personified everyday objects bringing life to the mundane. I created the tagline ‘pottery that’s alive’ to flesh out the brand identity and convey that my work is intended to act as characters in my customers’ lives. I drew simple doodles of birds and characters to convey this world customers are entering when supporting my brand and transformed them into sticker-like graphics. These are reconfigurable and create continuity across web and print and are seen in the final brand identity including a logo, logotype, thank you cards, stickers, postcards, banners and social media graphics.

Scan of sharpie doodles of budgies and cockatiels
scanned doodles that became brand graphics
Chaotic Illustrator file with brand identity iterations
exploration on Illustrator

challenge

A challenge of this project was balancing the childish and fun angle of my work without alienating other audiences. Analysis of my sales states that most of my customers are older than me, so overly young branding was a risk. I remedied this by retaining a sense of maturity through muted colours and negative space, which reflects the aesthetic of my ceramics more accurately as well. In many of my projects, my biggest struggle is restraint as I typically design over-the-top initially and then strip back my work to keep only the strongest elements.

Business card with doodle graphics on bright orange background
Business card with doodle graphics and positive affirmation stickers on hot pink background
initial business card iterations
Front of business/thank you card with doodle graphics on tan background
Back of business/thank you card with logo and speech bubble to write personalized note in
final business/thank you card included with purchase

reflection

I learned about the many channels one can use to create a cohesive brand identity in this project. I am proud of the results, but I anticipate the branding will continue to evolve as I grow as an artist. For now, I am satisfied with the branding but I look forward to updating it continually as I improve as a ceramist and designer.

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