Branding :: Mood board for North + West Collection

I'm excited to begin sharing one of the two brand development projects I have been working on lately. I'll be expanding the story into multiple posts to reflect the stages of my design process and to help give you a sense of how I go about building a brand.

The first step is a consultation with the client to gain a better understanding of her design vision, brand story, and business aspirations. I also ask the client to complete a short questionnaire to further elaborate on all of the above. Then it's time for me to begin gathering inspiration on Pinterest and create a private board full of lifestyle images, fonts, color, and logos. Once I have feedback on the pins, I whittle them down to a select few that reflect what I see as key elements of the brand: typography, palette, design elements, and mood. Here's what I came up with for North + West Collection, a new brand for the former Heritage Dry Goods shop in Eugene, Oregon:

Typography  /  Minimal, modern, and clean sans serif fonts with a classic feel

Palette  /  Warm earth tones like clay, cement, and cornflower complimented by soft pastel blush and blue

Design elements  /  Decals of natural elements: water, trees, and mountains that evoke the spirit of the Pacific Northwest

Mood  /  Airy, where land meets water; a sense of direction and place

This mood board is the product of these initial steps and helped set the tone for the next stage of the brand development process: designing the primary logo. I'll be sharing the first round of logo designs I created for North + West next week, so stay tuned!

Interested in working together to redesign your logo or to develop a brand from scratch? Contact me with details and any questions you may have about the process.