Alexandria, Virginia-based fine artist Jennifer Allevato came to us ready to elevate her brand to take her growing art business to the next level. After years of using a logo she created, Jennifer felt that it was not an accurate representation of her skill and the high quality of her art; she needed something to better capture the attention of her collectors (and future collectors) and grow alongside her creative opportunities.
About her art, Jennifer shared,
“I am less interested in capturing realism than I am capturing a feeling of a moment.
I allow my process to show in my finished piece: drips, pencil lines, ‘imperfect’ marks are all a part of the process in the creation of the piece. My pieces tend to have an inherent softness and stillness about them; I strive to create work that inspires a quiet moment in a loud and busy world.”
Jennifer’s old logo sits on the windowsill behind her
As part of our Deluxe Branding process, we began with a brand strategy to hone in on Jennifer’s target audience, business goals, and brand values. Based on that clarity, we then created a Mood Board to represent the direction in which we wanted to take her visual brand. The Mood Board process helps each client understand the overall feel of their brand before we actually start designing; allows us to weed out any inspiration that does not resonate with them; and, once finalized, serves as a visual reminder to us as we move into the design process.
As we began the creative process, it was important for us to design branding elements that support and coordinate with Jennifer’s paintings while not competing with them. We were thrilled to hit the mark with the first complete concept that we presented to Jennifer, and used two subsequent proof rounds to refine the color palette and intricate details.
We designed a soft, flowy logo and multiple brand marks that can be used across both Jennifer’s website and various printed materials.
We also looked to Jennifer’s work as inspiration in creating a soft but polished color palette, and simplified a few of her actual sketches to work as brand marks representing her three areas of focus: floral, still life, and landscape pieces. The brand marks incorporating these elements are flexible and can be used with or without the accompanying text.
The variety of marks and colors work beautifully alongside Jennifer’s work, complementing and not distracting from her masterpieces.
We also shortened Jennifer’s original tagline — “Expressive, timeless artwork to inspire thoughtful moments and awaken your walls” — to the simpler and more direct, “awaken your walls.”
After the overall visual brand was complete, we created simple packaging elements for Jennifer’s online and wholesale orders, tying together all of the visual elements and including pertinent details for her customers.
We also updated the design of the postcard Jennifer includes in each order, serving two purposes: it shares a glimpse into another fine art print that her collectors may be interested in purchasing in the future, while also encouraging them to send some snail mail to another art-lover who will appreciate her work.
While we didn’t redesign Jennifer’s website (she already had a robust Shopify e-commerce site she was happy with), Jennifer referenced the detailed Deluxe Brand Style Guide we created for her to make her own updates to her existing site. The logo, colors, and fonts now reflect the new brand and level up her online presence.
Shortly after the project was complete, Jennifer shared:
“I feel much more confident about the overall look of the business. It helped move the visuals to the next level to meet my art and business where it is and where it’s going.”
And now, a year later, Jennifer has seen an even greater impact on her overall business:
“My engagement has definitely gone up. I have had customers and gallery contacts commenting on how sharp my branding and packaging look, more customers sharing their packages on social media, and many replies and comments to my emails on how pretty they looked after I started using the template you all created for me. My new print packaging labels look so professional and are perfect for the new retail shop accounts that I've gotten recently. It was just that final cherry on top to make my art, products, and packaging all come together in harmony. Overall it has just given my business a more cohesive, sophisticated look and people have definitely noticed!”
Does your visual brand truly reflect your business?
We love working with business owners (including but not limited to fine artists!) to define their unique voice, create a visual brand that clearly communicates that message, and connect them with their target audience through the power of good design. Could your logo & visual brand be doing more to connect you with your target audience? Let’s chat!