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CALICO MARKET

This project was born in a time of stress-induced need to decorate. During 2020, like many, I turned to online retail therapy. I wanted to create a space that offered comfort and magic, during a time we were collectively trapped at home.

Calico Market was an online shop that offered handmade and vintage-inspired boho decor, wall art, textiles, and furniture, as well as everyday organizational items. Ultimately, I wasn't able to sustain it, but it was a fun project... and an effective coping method.

DELIVERABLES

Brand logo, look + feel
Source products from suppliers; 60+ items (AliExpress, Oberlo)
Web design and content (Shopify)
Instagram content + marketing
Online catalog and shop-by-style boards

Mood board + some of the items sold in shop. Going for a layered bohemian, industrial look, inspired by a mix of styles like Victorian and Gothic as well as eastern and folk art.

Exploring fonts and logo variations. The name Calico Market came to be because it made me think of how shop cats add whimsy and personality to bodegas and markets. And because it had interesting phonetics and also the domain and IG handle were available tbh and stakes were very low.

Expanding two final logo options into color and pattern to better visualize them. The patterns were made to look like block prints, referencing the handmade and vintage inspiration of the shop. I liked the whimsy of the second one but the flower mark looked like a cross section of a fruit and would work better as a produce market logo. I liked the simplicity of the supported arch flower logo and it matched better with the more anchored typography on the first one.

Final logo kit with variations, color palette, and font key. I settled on the first logo with bold block letters with some wear around the edges, contrasted by a secondary text in an antique looking serif text. I used the flower logo mark and added some elements to give it a base and an arch silhouette - as a visual reference to doors, homes, and eastern art that influenced the shop style. The pattern is created by repeating the logo mark and adding a worn block print texture to reinforce the handmade quality. The colors are neutral and earthy to support the natural look of the brand, and apply seamlessly to any future marketing and merchandising materials, while letting the colorful product speak for itself.

logo mockup - perhaps a storefront sign.

packaging example with logo patterned tissue paper and printed baggies for small items.

shop-by-style board with featured items.

Shopify landing page + mobile view, and instagram page