Branding Archives – Swiss Cottage Designs

French inspired branding

May 13, 2013

Now this was a fun one! Every good photographer needs a strong logo to help set them apart. Janice Yi Photography approached us earlier this year to create a unique and whimsical logo for her photography business. What is even better is that last year Janice was one of our Brides, already knowing one another made it even more personal.

Whenever I work on a branding project, it’s important to really take the time to truly understand the personality and message the client trying to portray. In Janice’s case she wanted to capture her love of all things French while still playing off her whimsical, romantic aesthetic. I created a few different looks that I felt each expressed Janice’s business and let her choose what option worked best for her. The first logo set draws upon a French decorative style with swirling flourishes and vintage French inspired type.

I love the second set of logos! It was inspired by vintage baroque forms and then I peppered the design with sketches of the photographic equipment Janice uses on a daily basis. I love the clever aspect of this as it merges her love of French design with photography.

The final set of logos was Janice’s choice. We took inspiration from The Little Prince, with the stars and free flowing shapes. I also love how the circular shape here speaks to the shape of a camera lens.

Poppy’s Catering + Events

March 22, 2013

Well it’s actually a bit of a funny story: A girl walks into a bar… no really, I met Jamie last year at a bar in Brooklyn to discuss her wedding invites. We drank warm beers and discussed her rustic, Upstate vision. At the time Jamie was head of events and catering and The City Bakery in Manhattan. She was all business and I knew she’d be great to work with. A few months later, we moved into a new apartment and I noticed Jamie’s unique last name on the neighboring mailbox. I sent her a quick email and asked if she happened to live in this building (thinking probably “no” since what are the odds) and sure enough, we were neighbors. Jamie was pumped because she got free shipping on her invites and I was excited to know someone in the building. We became friends and after Jamie’s wedding she started telling me about her idea to open a catering business. Naturally I was all about it and offered to do the branding. I figured she’d take a several months, get her plans sorted out and then baby step into the process of owning a business. Clearly, I didn’t quite know Jamie yet. This girl pushed on the gas and went full steam ahead! With clients like Tory Burch, J.Crew and Coach, Jamie’s business is already a huge success. Poppy’s Catering + Events in located at 243 Degraw Street in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. They offer drop off catering in your home, office, or on set, as well as full service catering for corporate events, weddings, showers, etc. handling all details from the staffing to the decor. The amazing setups that Jamie and her team come up with never cease to amaze me. Her eye for detail is impeccable and every event looks better than the next. I also really love reaping the benefits of their leftovers.

When working on Jamie’s branding, it was pretty easy. She has a very clean and simple aesthetic and wanted everything on the logo to serve a purpose. I was gearing up for a long branding meeting but Jamie walked in and pick something from the first round and that was that. As the business continues to grow, I’ll share more pictures of the evolution of the Poppy’s branding. But here is your first taste of Swiss Cottage Designs new bestie: Poppy’s Catering + Events!

The Poppy’s Logo:

Logo Variations:

Poppy’s Website {complete with a pic of Poppy himself, Jamie’s grandfather and inspiration for her business}:

The owner, Jamie, and her number one gal, Rachel:

A few pics in and around Poppy’s:

follow Poppy’s on instagram @poppyscatering

SCD branding

February 21, 2013

Friend of Swiss Cottage and official SCD photographer, Susan Pittard, came by the office last week to see what was cooking. We loaded her up with some of our new SCD goodies and she pulled together a few pics for us. One of my favorite parts about this business is getting to play with our packaging and branding. Just last month we rolled out our new site and since then we’ve been adding a few other freshies to the mix. The big ones were our new business cards + client thank you notes. I ended up screen printing these {white ink on kraft paper} after I fell in love with a recent client job that was also screen printed. Our new business cards are letterpress on one side and screen printed on the other side {and then duplexed to be #220 lbs.}. Patterns have always been a weakness for me so I created two new envelope liner patterns to play with. I found a great company online and created some cute custom ribbon as well. Of course, like any tortured artist, as soon as it was all complete I enjoyed it for about 5 minutes before I jumped to thinking about what I’ll change next time… the joys of being a creative!

Branding: Dupree & Co.

July 20, 2012

Man, we’ve been busy over here! July is a big month for design work, sorry for the radio silence! Whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I can always count of my good friends, wine & cheese, to make me cheer up Charlie! So when Dupree & Company asked me to work on their branding, I really couldn’t say no. I mean, their shop is my idea of heaven! (all that cheese? stop.) The owner, Ethan, is a Brooklyn guy gone Islander. He opened his first shop on the island of Nantucket last year. I showed a little sneak peek of this design back in the Spring, but this June I was able to see the work in action.

Ethan wanted the logo to feel very French inspired but not too over the top. He also wanted to convey that it is a brick and mortar cheese shop. We created two main icons, a vintage cheese slicer and an actual cheese wheel. I think a common misconception with branding is that everything needs to “match” and I don’t think this is always the case. With Dupree & Co. we created two logo options and played with fonts and borders. We wanted it to feel well merchandised but not matchy matchy. The sign of a good logo is when it can be deconstructed to create more, simple logos.

Below are a few snaps of the shop and the work. Bravo Ethan!

Dupree + Co. Branding: Sneak Peek!

May 29, 2012

Did everyone have a great long weekend? We are officially up and running in the new SCD headquarters, feels good! While we are settling in, I thought it might be fun to share a new branding project. For the last few months we have been working with a great boutique wine + cheese shop to help them develop their brand logo and identity. We’ve done some great stuff for them, here a little peek of some of their printed goods. Excited to share the rest soon!

Geometric Branding

May 10, 2012

As a designer, you have to be fully prepared to understand that your first round of designs are exactly that- a first round. Most designs take a few round of edits before you and the client have given it your stamp of approval. But sometimes {and I love these sometimes} you hit the nail on the head the first time. And that, my friends, always calls for celebration! I designed this logo for a client and while it wasn’t the direction she ultimately went with, I really loved it. We wanted to take a classic concept and modernize it with sharp lines and bright, bold colors. It love how fresh and vibrant it is!

Fresh New Cards

November 14, 2011

Happy Monday everyone! Last week flew by in the blink of an eye but I was able to pick up my new business cards and I couldn’t be happier with them! I went in a different direction this time and I love the results. The cards are duplexed {printing on the front and the back then having them adhered for a double thick weight} and have orange edge painting. I’ve become semi-addicted to this fun upgrade. My printer told me it’s very hard to go back once you’ve started and he wasn’t lying. I used my graph paper pattern on the back and impressed “swiss cottage designs” in a very light gray leaving the illusion of a blind impression without actually going all the way there. I wanted to keep the cards simple but for them to still feel like the brand.

Now on a side note: Going off a tip from a client I started “The Hunger Games” last week. I can’t seem to put these books down, they are so addictive! If you’re looking for an interesting, easy read check them out.

Soft & Sophisticated :: Caroline Cole Branding

November 3, 2011

Here is some fresh branding for you all today. Caroline Cole, an interior designer based out of Nantucket, needed a complete look for her new business. We wanted to set her up with a whole suite of all the business essentials; custom cards, social notes and the always classic letterhead. Caroline radiates warmth and was looking for a clean and sophisticated way to represent that through her paper products. Everything was letterpress printed on a cool gray Strathmore stock that we special ordered for the job. For the business cards we went for a double thick, duplex stock with a unique letterpress blind impression pattern on the top and crisp fonts to play up the sophistication factor. The real kick is the delicious edge painting {my fav!} that adds a modern punch. Her letterhead and stationery work the clean and cool theme we have going on and custom envelope linings seal the deal.

Birth of a logo

October 27, 2011

I do a lot of logo work over here, and truth me told- it’s not easy! Logos take a lot of time, research and above all trial and error. I am currently printing new business cards and it got me thinking about how I created my little Swiss Cottage logo. I spent hours drawing and redrawing the logo idea I had in my head and nothing was working for me. I was on a flight to visit my Grandparents in Michigan and I started sketching. I was being really loose, almost sloppy with my sketches but in that I ended up coming up with the logo for the biz. It was felt like the right one and I loved that it was straight from my sketchbook and not super perfect. It’s funny how sometimes it’s all about research and design and other times it just creeps up on you.

RUMMAGE

August 29, 2011

I am a big fan of all things funky and vintage so when Kishani Perera got in touch with me about designing the site and logo for her new store, RUMMAGE, I couldn’t have been more excited. Rummage is a funky, eclectic assortment of all things vintage and are hand picked by Kishani. Kishani, who is an interior decorator by trade, knew exactly what she was looking for in terms of look and feel. We wanted to make the overall site feel very vintage glam but still be user friendly and simple. Sometimes when you collaborate with other designers it can be tough given that you both have strong ideas but with Kishani it was incredibly easy. There was lots of great back and forth and fun ideas flowing throughout the process. While I designed the layout and feel of the site, it took the magic of Josh at Every Angle Media to make it a full on functioning site.

If you’re ever in L.A. you must be sure to pop by and check out all the little treasures RUMMAGE has to offer.

Here is the original inspiration board that Kishani and I started with…