STORIES WERE MEANT TO BE TOLD
So here are a few about brands we've helped bring to life.
Each is derived from the stories that are embedded in the very core of the individual. Most are even inspired directly by childhood favorites and fond memories. We've found that when the story is built from such depths, it resonates with audiences even if they can't understand or articulate why.
Enjoy the uniquely remarkable stories found in each of these brands.
THE BERRY HOME
"Daniel managed to take a very vague idea of what I thought my brand should be and turn it into a polished and professional product that represented exactly who I am. My business is now at a level that would not have been possible without his expertise."
— Kelsey | @the.berry.home
INSPIRATION
The Berry Home brand setup was one of the most fun and rewarding I've done. Her husband is a good friend of mine and I've watched her growth 127 followers to (at the time of the brand launch) over 310k.
Kelsey wanted the visuals for the Berry Home to be warm, familiar, and differentiated from others in her space. So we started where we always do... at the things in childhood that brought the most joy. This included a heavy dose of sitcoms with a generous side of The Wizard of Oz. And that ended up being perfect. We were even able to leverage elements from a kindergarten drawing Kelsey did of Dorothy traversing the land of Oz.
LOGOS
If you look back at the inspiration, you'll see the tie-ins throughout. The more obvious ones are the shape from the title of Wizards of Waverly Place as well as the retro type inspired by The Brady Bunch. The one that flies under the radar, though, is the line shadow adding a beautifully stylized element to the primary logo. It gives a nod to the Gilmore Girls logo and the depth it had. The colors were a mashup of Kelsey's favorite, purple, as well as some muted tones that could be found on the sets of The Brady Bunch and Friends.
TEXTURES & ICONS
The textures are where the details begin to shine. The lines in the purple texture are pulled directly from the Wizard of Oz drawing Kelsey did as a child and the dots in the green are an interpretation from the texture found in the Hannah Montana ad. We found that these gave a sense of whimsy and playfulness to an otherwise polished brand. It was the perfect juxtaposition.
The icons aren't as whimsical, but they pack a big punch. Since Kelsey's brand centers around DIY, the table and chair made sense. They aren't just representations of hand-crafted items, but places where people gather. The fingerprint and plus icon are nods to the other side of The Berry Home brand — the mom and homemaker. Every mom leaves their fingerprints on the lives of their families and Kelsey wanted to be sure to remind them that they are more than just homemakers. There's always a +.
BADGES
A stamp is a mark of approval, a representation of ownership — especially in the hand-crafted space. It only felt appropriate to create a few of these for the Berry Home brand. They are all-encompassing areas of messaging that do a great job of representation, but also display some of the core brand sayings.
PHOTO TREATMENTS
As I pulled inspiration and different elements adjacent to Kelsey's favorites, I ran across some beautiful vintage playbills for the Wizard of Oz. They featured large blocks of color, defined geometric shapes, and a really interesting effect where the background of the photo was tinted and used as the shadow.
In developing these treatments, the juxtaposition between polish and whimsy jumped to another level and pulled the two sides of the brand together perfectly.
MERCH
The goal of the merch was to do one thing, say something meaningful. Shirts and hats with logos are nice, but the best merch makes you feel something when you where it. The idea was to infuse the phrase home MAKER throughout each piece. It's a reminder to women who are keepers of the home that they aren't just homemakers. There's a plus sign. They are makers, they're mothers, they're teachers, and they're leaders among many other things.
The Berry Home merch was designed to reinforce an identity. Because everyone needs to be reminded of their greatness periodically.
WEBSITE & EMAIL
The brand felt great, but it found a vehicle to go far when we established the website and email system. It not only gave The Berry Home a digital residence, it streamlined a lot of what was already taking place... and made it WAY easier to use. The website features a blog, a shop for both digital and physical products, and (my personal favorite) a way to shop the discounts/products by room so you can have a real-time representation of what you're buying.
The email was equally important as it provided an automated way to welcome new Berry Home family into the fold and gave a space for Kelsey to communicate weekly on a much more personal level.
If you want, you can check out The Berry Home website here.
THE GROWTH LIFE
“Daniel is an expert at getting down to heart and soul of any creative project. Whether it’s design, strategy, or just understanding the value I can bring to the world — he’s helped me take my brand to the next level.”
—Tyler | @tylergrowthlife
INSPIRATION
The Growth Life brand is one near and dear to my heart. Tyler has been a great friend of mine for almost a decade now. We've worked together, we've shared meals together, and we've built businesses together. When he said he was ready to brand The Growth Life, I put my whole heart in it.
I went down the childhood route that as we do at 812, but soon found a theme in the vibes represented. The inspiration became centered around rustic, outdoor motifs — some from childhood, some from current loves, and some from his everyday rhythms.
LOGOS
Tyler is a simple man with simple taste. Rarely does his clothing divert from some form of black and, if there's a logo or graphic on it, it's a rare event. Along with the inspiration, I knew that elegance and simplicity were imperative to capture.
After going rounds with different picture marks attached, we struck gold with a simple, type-driven approach. The lettering carried the sophistication of a classic font with the softness and personality that Tyler always portrays. This allowed everything around it including the monogram to fill spaces that require a smaller mark.
Then, for funsies, I had Tyler write "Growth Life" so it could be used in more hand-crafted instances. It's one of my favorite touches.
TEXTURES & ICONS
The ruggedness of the brand is bolstered through the textures. Leather, wood, slate, fire — all the classic textures you'd find at a whiskey bar or outdoor retreat.
The style and construction of the icons were inspired by the Smithey brand's artwork and the subjects of the icons were heavily inspired by the outdoors and outdoor cooking The continuous line drawing style gives a unique look and, the way we did it, carries a unique hand-done quality. One icon that's particularly special is the dog one. It's Tyler's dog, Luna, to whom he "pays the boxer tax" in each of his videos. A fan favorite, I knew Luna had to be memorialized.
BADGES
A stamp is a mark of approval, a representation of ownership — especially in the hand-crafted space. I used the opportunity to create badges that carried some of Tyler's most popular sayings — "Enjoy the calm" and "Headed to my happy place" — to applications such as merch and other products.
The hope is that one day one or all of them may be turned into metal brands that Tyler could use to stamp wood or the tops of his burger buns.
MERCH
Merch must always reflect the personality of the creator. This line does just that. It's simple, solid colored, and carries a masculine vibe with a softness that women love as well.
I even imagined what it might look like to create a line of skillets with a simple badge as the brand representation on the bottom. While this remains a pipe dream, I'm hoping it planted a seed that grows later on!
SPICES
One of the consistent elements used in Tyler's videos are unique spice blends. Knowing that, I took the time to imagine what a spice line could look like. Again, these are purely concept photos, but they serve to spark the imagination of what could be. I developed specific continuous line drawings for each blend and crafted a letter from the heart for the back label.
WILLIAM HENRY
“Daniel has a real gift for taking your story — and all those scattered thoughts — and turning them into exactly what your heart’s been trying to say. He’s been such a blessing in helping me build everything at William Henry.I’ll always be his biggest cheerleader!”
—Somer | Owner of William Henry
INSPIRATION
The William Henry brand has the richest history of any I've worked with. Now a series of salons and a spa, the company was inspired by one man who had one barber shop, Mr. William Henry Ballard. In his honor, the first salon launched in 2005 carrying his first and middle names.
Knowing this story, it only felt right to go back to Mr. Ballard for the brand visuals. Lo and behold, when I did, I found some magic in his handwriting. His letters carried a certain imperfect quality, but at the same time, possessed a quaintness as well — almost as if he originated the idea of southern charm with each pen stroke. From that foundation, the brand was built.
LOGOS
The writing samples I had of Mr. Ballard's handwriting never, word for word, spelled out William Henry, but I was able to piece together letters from different words to craft the final mark. When paired with a beautifully simple and elegant sans serif font, it nailed the premium feel we were going for.
From there, we were able to move back and forth between the script and the clean typeface to create additional marks, icons, and representations.
MERCH
The William Henry merch needed to be one thing and one thing only... elevated. It had to look premium and convey that wearer was the type of person who cared about that.
Using the script and clean icon as standalone designs created a designer feel while maintaining the charm of the brand.
BUILDING SIGNAGE
The moment you see your work staring back at you from a sign is the moment you know if you made the right choice or not. A sign has to convey both what's inside and what the vibe is within 10 seconds. There is no time to wax poetic and discuss the intricacies of the design. Does it work or not? In this instance, the answer was a resounding yes. The quick reads are "salon" and "spa" so the clarity comes through and the "William Henry" script lets you know you're about to walk into a premium establishment with a personal feel.
WEBSITES
In-person services always benefit from a strong online presence. I had the opportunity to create websites for both the salon and spa where I was able to infuse a good bit of story telling into the utility of pricing and reservations. I wrote both sites to paint the picture of who you become and how you feel after you visit the William Henry salon or spa. They carry the brand look and feel throughout and, in turn, set up the expectation for the experience they'll have when they walk into the building.
If you want to check them out, here's the salon site and here's the spa site.
812 MARKETING
INSPIRATION
I know it can seem kinda weird and meta to do a case study on your own branding, but there's a cool story on how I got here so I figured it was worth telling.
As is the 812 way, I started with all the things that brought me joy as a kid. As I scanned the page I noticed a really interesting set of colors, fonts, and graphics leaping off the page. It was a group of basketball cards and they spoke... loudly. Collecting basketball cards was an obsession of mine growing up. I went to card shops, grabbed packs as often as I could, and attended card shows whenever they were in town. When I saw those particular cards on the page, I knew it was the right direction to go. Bright, vibrant, and slightly imperfect — it was me.
LOGOS
Being named 812 Marketing lends itself toward a type-driven approach. Lucky for me, the inspiration gave me plenty to work from. As I examined each card, the funky script of the triptych arrested my gaze. That was it. Because there isn't a font like that, I had to hand-craft each number as a derivative of what I saw. The result was perfectly imperfect and paired beautifully with the extended font in which "marketing" is written.
TEXTURES & ICONS
One of the things I noticed about the basketball cards right away is the texture of the paper. You could almost feel it through the screen. It also gave the colors and graphics an immediate vintage/printer press feel which played perfectly into the connection piece of the brand.
The icon was inspired by the giraffe icon on the Jerry West card. It carries the same style, but a wildly different execution. I chose the Zebra because its stripes are as unique as a fingerprint. I believe that's how each brand should be as no 2 stories are exactly alike.
Oh and the hat? I'm never without a hat on my head so it only seemed fitting.
MERCH
I had 2 goals when designing this merch — to create moments of texture and to capture the throwback nature of the 812 brand. The word "remarkable" was hand-crafted as derived from the triptych card in the same way 812 was. And the zebra patch is where I chose to bring in the texture. Designed to be a chenille patch, it has the fluffy, soft vintage feel that makes the brand so warm and inviting.
WEBSITE
The goal of the 812 Marketing website isn't to just display the work. It's to tell a story. I want the stories of those I work with to remain front and center as well keeping my own ever-evolving story as a rich part of the brand. Hopefully after reading these case studies, it becomes evident that this is where my heart resides. Everyone deserves to feel seen, known, and understood. And that's the mark I always aim to hit with every brand.
SEE MORE OF THE STORY
The case studies show the strategy behind the work, but there’s plenty more where that came from. Explore the Design Gallery for more creative work or step inside the Mural Gallery to see how the brands are carried into physical spaces.