Project Overview
Logo & Brand
Logo
Brand Guide
Logo Design
Brand Design
Because the main ask in this case was the logo, and it would need to be used in all the other materials, this is where I focused my efforts on first. The takeaways I had gotten from my interactions with the company were that the paint colors, wallpapers, floors, lighting, and wall hangings were meant to translate the beauty of nature into interior designs - but the elements they chose in their design work such as lamps, pillows, and other furniture often had sharp, geometric shapes to them, making them pop out from the environment. With that in mind, I created the first pass at a potential logo:
The basic shape not only would be easy to theme to a variety of different colors or materials, but also represented a sort of window into nature - with the outline representing the window frame, and the interior square like a portal into the vast world that the interior designs encompassed.
It wasn't enough to stand by itself, but it did give me a launch point as I set out to become familiar with other elements of the brand - specifically, with the colors. My client had specifically requested a cream color as the base color for any marketing materials that could support it, so I knew I would need to pick colors to align with this as the neutral tone. Looking through their images and renderings, I saw a lot of gold and blue elements, so I decided to pick two of these shades in nature-inspired color tones so the pairing would look intentional when the brand was shown side-by-side with completed designs. Finally, I picked a slightly off-black shade to round out the brand and add a bold splash of color.
With the colors safely chosen and approved, I turned my attention back to the logo, and thought about the clients that this interior design firm targeted - often large, expansive buildings, located with a lot of land around them and with plenty of nature for tourists to explore. This eventually brought me to the thought of stone cairns - markers that are often left on trails. They are essentially piles of stacked rocks, and while not often square in shape, stacking the logo seemed to tie it together in exactly the way I had been looking for.
Marketing Materials
Print Materials
Website
Print Design
Web Design
The most important thing after the logo was to get business cards created. So much of the brand rides on a business card when it comes to networking events, and I wanted to make sure they had something that made their brand pop. With the dark stripes on the back and a simplistic design on the front, I felt this design really did their brand justice.
However, I also had the idea to provide a postcard. I had gotten the impression that in many of their past networking events, they had written out basic ideas on notepads for potential clients to review before calling them. While relatively successful, this meant if the client wasn't ready to move at that time they could forget who gave them those ideas. So I decided a branded postcard might help to keep the spirit of this tradition while also giving a branded canvas to write on.
Challenges
The main challenge I faced was the tight timeline. I was approached one week before a critical networking event, and the company was desperately needing not only a logo but also some basic marketing materials that could be handed out at the event and a website to direct them to. Because of this, everything was launched in phases - I got approval on the logo, made a very quick and basic set of business cards and postcards that could be done at a local print shop with a 3-day turnaround, and set up a website landing page with contact info and a couple photos. Then in the weeks following the event, I was able to create real business cards, get a more formal website set up, and create an official brand guide as well as additional uses of the logo.
Outcome
The event was relatively successful, with a lot of business cards being handed out and analytics showing a huge amount of website traffic on the days following the event. They also received a lot of compliments on the brand and how well the colors fit with the completed design photos they showed off.
Additionally, because of the demand for new print materials for each networking event, Clay Pryor Interiors remained a steady client of mine throughout the next several years. Over this time, I created multiple brochures, flyers, booklets, letterheads, and signage for the brand, as well as expanded on the branding elements and fair usage for their logo as more and more clients came to them with asks for displaying their company name.
