I recently completed an identity project for a gourmet cupcake brand, and now that it’s all said and done (at least for now), it’s time to share it. In addition to the final project, I’ll be narrating my process to show the complexity and patience required for these types of projects. So, let’s start with the finished piece:
Everything was created in Illustrator from scratch, including the type. I had attempted something different than existing cupcake brands/logos, yet adhering to the familiarity of a cupcake. I went with a single line illustration for its simplicity and juxtaposed it with a complex illustration using deliberate strokes. I know, sounds like BS right? but it’s the real deal truth. The text was initially all black, but I added colors to help strengthen the connection between the type and icon. Lastly, I added contrasting drop shadows to add depth and further the connection.
The Process
Every logo that works well takes longer than you think. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but I replicated the process just the same. I went through at least 20 ideas, and a lot of people other than me can verify that it’s a small number! The following shown here are pretty straight forward (cupcakes and a box), but I did have some pretty outlandish ideas that ultimately didn’t translate well. Anyways, here they are:
I ended up taking five to the digital process and when all were said and done, two stood out:
I then reviewed these with my extended design family Studio Telescope and we tossed around a couple of ideas to see if these could be further strengthened, including starting some new ideas altogether. Due to the time available, I ended up trying on more, but ultimately came back to the one that became the final.
The next step in the process was finding a complementary typeface. Unfortunately, this opened another can of worms, so it was decided that the best option would be creating this from scratch. Here are the few ideas I played with:
Two stood out and were digitized, and then one was selected. Even at that point, it wasn’t final, as the tedious process of tweaking ‘this’ and ‘that’ took place. There are eight variations of what ultimately became the final.
The last part of the process was application of the logo. While I always hope that just seeing the logo will be enough, it never is. The best way to emphasize it was showing it in use. For that, I created a 5.5×8.5 notepad, a business card, and stickers for the cake box.
Anyways, I hope that you find this useful. I tried to keep my narrative as concise as I could, but admit that it could’ve been shorter! Happy logo making!
