Creased Cards
CREASED CARDS
BRAND IDENTITY / WEBSITE DESIGN / CREATIVE CONCEPT / MARKETING STRATEGY / PRINT PRODUCTION / SIGNAGE
Creating a new business can be daunting at the best of times, but when your flagship store is to be in the iconic, world-famous ‘Lanes’ shopping district of Brighton, you really must have a strong, distinct presence. Creased Cards sells a unique and fun range of greetings cards and gifts, and needed a brand identity that would enable them to outshine the big hitters like Clinton Cards and Scribbler.
THE BRIEF
Most greeting cards ventures make their home solely in the digital space, but Creased’s owner Paul Jarman also wanted to get back to the literal bricks and mortar of highly targeted retail outlets nationwide, whilst still creating a positive web experience for consumers.
The crux of Creased’s business ethos is that they want to watch people leave their premises with a smile on their face and with a fantastic product in their hands. Their personality-driven, ambitious philosophy had to be embodied in the branding, which also had to be strong enough to support in-shop and online retail.
THE ANSWER
We looked at the essence of why we give cards; the physical act of giving greetings cards and watching the recipient’s reaction can be an incredibly emotive experience. Whatever the occasion, from birthdays to weddings, or messages wishing ‘Get Well Soon’, the gesture is in many ways like sharing a smile.
Our final Creased logo encapsulates both the product and the essence of the company, along with the notion of ‘creasing up’ with laughter.
The Creased device was naturally born out of the logo, formed from the ‘ED’ of ‘creased’ into a strong smiling motif that represents happiness, laughter and associated positive emotions. It is a very adaptable, versatile device that can be applied to a diverse range of items from compliments slips to phone covers, umbrellas and T-shirts.
The visually striking primary colour palette of purple and yellow was complimented by more subtle colours. With the festive season being a hugely important sales period, the further enrichment and flexibility that a seasonal palette provides made perfect sense.
The Rockwell typeface delivers a strong display face for headlines and posters, whilst the unfussy and practical Gill Sans typeface was utilised in three different weights for body copy.
The website we designed fulfilled the two fundamental needs; an easy-to use, secure ecommerce function, and conveying the essence of the Creased ethos, via its vibrant, fresh and fun aesthetic.
We looked at the essence of why we give cards. Whatever the occasion, from birthdays to weddings, or messages wishing ‘Get Well Soon’, the gesture is in many ways like sharing a smile.
THE RESULTS
The resulting brand guidelines provided a comprehensive lexicon style that could be utilised throughout all communications, both in store and out, and were easily integrated into Creased’s shop launch and new website.
Gasp worked with me to create a great new brand identity for Creased – and then implemented it across our store, marketing materials and website. From the initial ideas they came up with, the consultative process worked really well, and we ended up with an identity that resonates nicely with customers.
Paul Jarman, Owner, Creased Cards
