Late last summer I was approached by a furniture storeowner, AnnMarie, who was going through the motions of branching out into not only selling furniture, but also manufacturing it. Due to the high exchange rate and long shipping waits (not to mention the increased chance of damage) the foreign furniture market had become an ever-increasing headache for her.
She had a name and a general idea of what she wanted, however the line was evolving on a daily basis; and a certain elasticity was needed for the branding project. One of her employees created an early version of a logo, which I used to help direct my designs.
A few months ago the time came to begin developing the catalog of pieces to be offered in the line. As predicted, the modus operandi of the line had evolved. It was time to create the final, polished identity. I began with the previous logotype as my base. A pair of concentric boxes framing a lowercase “pure” and uppercase “HOME.” I decided to not use the “roof” over the “H” as it was too playful for what the line had become. I chose to work with the Apple standard font, Optima at first because it seemed to reflect the not quite sans, not quite serif feel of the company. Optima has some wonderful qualities: a clean sans-serif with the stems and extenders made of some truly wonderful concave strokes. The clients loved it at first sight. I had my foundation. I had my font. Time to start the pencil moving.
I tried several different things at first. Both AnnMarie and Vikki had worked hard to source their parts and labor from the US and, specifically, from green companies. So, of course, I had some organic thoughts at first.
My final design consisted of the double box to frame “Pure Home” as used before. I took the first two letters of the company name to create “pH,” which as you chemistry folks will know is a measure of acids and bases. A balanced pH and happy medium is good for everyone and everything.
I have since continued developing the catalog page-by-page. I have begun development on a website for the line. The project will be a continuing one, as we grow into market displays, signage, advertising and more.