Deformup
Visual Identity
Deformup aims to transform furniture and interior decoration with products that are not only eco-responsible, but also aesthetic and design. These products come from the recovery and transformation of unused or discarded materials and objects, such as bottles or recycled one's like glasses, candles, etc.
In preparation for the launch of the online store and the crowdfunding campaign, the design of a visual identity that reflects the values and mission of the brand is taking its interest.
THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The aim
Increase the credibility of the brand and ensure that the brand image justifies the price of the products. In addition, Deformup must differentiate itself from the competition.
The objectives
The visual identity designed must:
-
reflect the brand's values
-
be consistent with the company's mission
-
be unique and attractive
-
be adaptable to any use
-
convey emotion
PHASE 01. Brand Consultation
As always, I like to start each project with a solid understanding of the brand's mission, audience, and competition.
In this case, the founders of Deformup had already established a clear mission, fixed values of the brand and had a clear image of their competitors.
Together we redefined the brand's personality, fine-tuned the personas, and selected the style of their visual identity.
VALUES
Transparency
Participation
Responsibility
Serenity
PERSONALITY
Ambitious
Creative
Passionate
Inspirational
Benevolent
STYLE
Unrefined
&
Minimalist
with
a creative touch
ARCHETYPE
Creator
&
Innocent
The mood board
PHASE 02. Logo Concept
THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE LOGO
“Giving a second life to an object while respecting its history”
BEHIND THE LOGO
THE PHOENIX
This mystical bird is the source of inspiration for a number of stories.
It rises from the ashes, consumed
by its own flames, thus taking on the symbol of renewal.
The phoenix is also perceived as a benevolent bird and bringing serenity.
+
+
The phoenix bird in a position of respect.
Designed in a circular shape to represent the earth and the cycle of a material being upcycled to a new useful product.
LABOR UNION SMALL
This typography, designed by McLetters, was made to complement the logo of the “Students for Labor Action” group at Ithaca College. They are fighting for the fair treatment of college employees.
Similarly to how important it is for Deformup to have valuable relationships with their employees, partners, and collaborators.
BRANDED LETTERS
Custom modification to make it unique and recognizable.
The arrows point upwards to represent the ambition of the brand and its founders.
A responsive logo that will adapt to any scale and support.
PHASE 03. Visual identity
Because a brand is more than just a pretty logo, we expanded the brand identity with additional elements, such as:
This colour palette is inspired
by the vintage industrial style.
Neutral colours, which give the composition a raw look and are reminiscent of craftsmanship, further emphasize the accent colour, orange, to attract attention and give a touch of creativity.
Knowing that they will shortly have an e-shop, we also added green and red colours that work well with the rest of the palette. Although not part of the brand's colours, these will be used for notification or error message on their website.
THE COLOUR PALETTE
To get an idea of how to apply the brand colours in a composition harmoniously and to stay in the brand visual identity, we use the 60-30-10 rule. Which gives a guideline on how to use the brand colours but is not to be taken as an obligation.
60%
of the composition uses one of these colours.
Ex. for backgrounds
30%
Colours for typography, layout, etc.
10%
Accent colours
We also defined a few colours combination that would mix well and that would stay in the brand's visual identity. These combinations can be used to decide on the colours of the background, the text, and other decoration elements of a composition.
THE TYPOGRAPHY
The selection of typography was very important to the visual identity of this brand, in order to accentuate the style we defined at the beginning : unrefined and minimalist with a creative touch.
To accompany the unrefined and energetic LABOR UNION SMALL typeface used in the logo, we opted for a reliable and minimal font family, such as the ones in the ROBOTO typeface.
Together, they ensure a dynamic visual and great readability, flexible enough for any purpose, from marketing material to legal documents.
Labor Union Small
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Roboto Slab
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Roboto Mono
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
To give a guideline on how to use these typographies together, we defined three typography systems of different scale to adapt to the different use the brand might have.
* extract from the style guide
SOCIAL MEDIA
Since most of Deformup's marketing efforts are made in social platforms, it is very important that the visual identity of these reflect the brand's values, mission, and style.
Profile picture, banners, Instagram story templates and highlights cover have all one specific mission : convey the brand's message and attract attention.
Instagram Highlights are a great marketing tool to express values, to showcase products, to show the behind the scene, and any other messaging aimed to connect with the audience via permanent Instagram stories.
Deformup uses them to show the brand's important aspects, that is why I designed a few extra covers for their Instagram account.
Moreover, we designed a set of Instagram Story background to be use for almost any type of story content in their account. These add a visual reminder of the brand, while increasing recognition.
