Words and Values to Brand By:
Words: Eccentric, Vibrant, unique, kooky
Values: Inspiration, experimentation, personality, and craft, not perfection
Name:
Two Shadows Boutique: inspired by my two black cats, who became the center of our world when we got them 2 years ago. It felt natural to name my new business after two creatures that inspired me to be creative again. The cats in question are below: top cat is Squigs, and then her brother, Salem.
Squigs and Salem
Market Research
I try to loosely follow trends, so a simple Google and Pinterest search is sufficient for me to make a list to figure out which trends I want to focus on.
Color Palette
I wanted a palette that would allow for a wide variety of assets to be able to be made but still be cohesive and not have clashing colors. I landed on a slightly muted, earth tone palette that conveyed vibrance but also wasn't in your face.
Fonts
Logo:
In Canva, I experimented with different shapes and sized of cat outlines, until I landed on an outline of a side profile of a cat with its tail up. Again, according to the namesakes, I had to have two outlines.
I tried different configurations and landed on the cats facing away from each other with their tails intertwined.
There is a natural point where I added some leafy florals and vines to evoke one of the things that inspired me to initially start this business: nature, specifically florals.
There are two different logos to use in different scales.
Business Card:
The business cards feature a QR code to my Etsy shop, along with the staple information such as my name, email, social media handle.
Front
Back
Jewelry Card:
Example of the Jewelry Card in use
Stall Poster
When I first started at the farmer's market, I did not have a large tarp banner to put across my canopy, so I had this printed out poster style, framed it, and put it up on an easel in front of my stall.
Farmer's Market Stall Banner
This 5'x3' banner is put up in the back of my 10'x10' canopy tent.
Farmer's Market Stall Design
My first setup was really simple, the only thing I had to go off of are Pinterest ideas and the few pieces I had made. I had thrown this setup together when I was given the opportunity to set up at my parent's farmer's stall.
For my first market at the Apex Farmers Market, I did more prep by doing test setups at home with more display props.
Test setup
Setup at the market
I continued to improve the table by trying solutions to create height by thrifting some pieces and DIYing a few jewelry card holders.
To make more height and depth, some crates did the trick, along with trying different ways to play with color on the table and decor for the season.
Instagram Posts
I created a template to post Instagram updates for when I will be at the market by using the color palette and interchanging the pictures.
Photography Aesthetic
Figuring out the photography aesthetic was a journey. It started out messy, trying to use too many props and not have a great lighting setup, along with backdrops that didn't work.
I landed on a very clean, simple aesthetic with props.
Infographic Aesthetic
Simple and concise labels with arrows using the brand fonts.
