Project Details
As the Executive Creative Director at Soapbox Agency, I led a team in developing a brand identity for Tall Mama Clothing Company, a startup focused on maternity clothing for tall women. This project required a cohesive logo and branding system with a tight two-week deadline. My role included initial client conversations, signing the contract, guiding creative development, and approving key deliverables, including the logo, style guide, and client pitch.
Client:
Tall Mama Clothing Company
Challenges:
The client needed a logo for a brand she was starting for maternity clothes. She needed a brand in a short turn around and wanted something specifically with a giraffe. I pulled a specialized team together to hit it out of the park in the two week turnaround.
Deliverables:
Logo and branding identity system
Skills:
Branding, graphic design, logo design, creative direction
Team Members
Associate Creative Director: Nikki Horton
Art Director: Cannon Johnson
Graphic Designers: James Clark, Kelli Marchant, John Lee, and Westley Mata
I directed a team of six to complete the brand identity in two weeks.
Background Info
Tall Mama the Company
Tall Mama Clothing Company was a startup born out of the founder’s personal struggle to find maternity clothes as a tall woman. She envisioned a classy and clean brand that resonated with her niche audience, incorporating her love for giraffes as a subtle nod to her time living in Africa. The quick turnaround was crucial to help the client launch her business with confidence.
Phase 1: Define the Problem
The client needed a brand identity that would:
- Be simple and elegant enough to embroider on clothing.
- Include symbolic representation of giraffes without being overly literal.
- Align with the brand’s pastel and white palette for an approachable yet classy look.
- Work effectively across digital, print, and apparel mediums.
Through initial conversations and research, we clarified that the logo needed to convey trust and sophistication while staying versatile for small and large applications.
Phase 2: Strategy & Approach
To meet the client’s needs, we developed a multi-step strategy and coordinated with our client at these key intervals.
Mood Boards
We explored visuals that combined giraffe symbolism, clean visuals, and pastel color palettes to help establish a cohesive aesthetic and align with the client’s vision. Our client chose a more colorful design with the turquoise.
Internal Approvals
Nikki, our associate creative director, led the team through the sketching and initial concepts. I had worked individually with a few of the designers giving critique and advice. After a round of revisions, and keeping in mind that our client wanted the brand to be classy, clean, and simple, we sent on a few logos.
Logo Pitch Deck
As usual, we put together a pitch deck to present to our client and leave behind for review.
Phase 3: How it went
Initial Client Feedback
Through iterative client meetings, we narrowed the options to designs that captured the brand’s essence while addressing functional needs like embroidery.
Round Two Pitch
While talking to our client, I realized that she wasn’t visualizing the connections to the key concepts previously discussed. After the team refined the logos based on the feedback, we put together some new presentation slides for the top choices that included some visual explanations. In the next meeting, I recommended the pregnant giraffe icon.
The Results
Through strategic creative direction and branding principles, we finalized the logo and created a simple brand identity system.
