
Marks and Notes
BRAND IDENTITY
Marks and Notes is an online novelty shop, selling prints, cards, clothing items and home goods with handmade designs, often inspired by calligraphy. The shop was in need of a basic branding package - a logo with several variations for different applications, and elements such as color, typography, and patterns. Using the new visual language I also designed the business cards, a banner for the online shop, and the monogram stickers to use on generic boxes and mailers.
The personal nature of calligraphy, the expressive strokes of brush on paper inspired the style of lettering for the logo. I started with ink and brush, working on finding the suitable rhythm and texture, aiming for a casual, irregular nature of the strokes and the composition that would reflect the friendly, informal feel of the products the customers would be bringing into their lives. The resulting calligraphic strokes also formed the basis for the background shapes, and the playful pattern that complete the visual language of the brand.


It was important for the logotype to be flexible for use in different applications - on web banners, cards, social media posts, ads and as an icon. It took some finessing of the letterforms to make the logo work in the horizontal, as well as the vertical format. The initials also work together as a monogram which can be used as an icon, in cases where the full name would be too long.
LOGO


TYPOGRAPHY
The simple monoline GT Pressura balances the expressive lettering of the logotype, and the overall colorful personality, clearly and quietly communicating the spare messaging.
COLORS
The products created by the brand are meant to bring positive emotion and color into the lives of its customers, and the color palette reflects that vision. The dark blue acts as the dependable and calm background, and the quiet grey works for the spare typography. The accent colors create a tetrad harmony, with each color bringing its own character into the mix - the romantic pink, friendly yellow, authentic green, and tranquil light blue.







