Daydreaming and Branding

I mentioned in my last post that I was doing some graphic work with logos and business cards.  Some of that has been for this blog and bakery project.  It is possibly a bit premature to be diving into logo design and branding, when I don't really have a culinary product to sell yet. But it is something I really love doing, and I have really realized how much I enjoy it in this project, so I have been telling those nay-saying voices in my head to just shut up and enjoy the process.

I chose the name Sugarwood because it is similar to my business name of Earthenwood, which I have been using for over 15 years.  I wanted something that was sort of similar, so it could be easily remembered for those who are familiar with my Earthenwood branding.  I did decide to split Sugarwood into two words for the logo, though, because having a long name for a business has always frustrated me, graphics-wise.  I wanted a round or square logo this time around!

Once I settled on the name, I started to gather together the online things that I might eventually need if I develop into a business.  Email address, domain name, blog, facebook page, instagram.  I even picked up the etsy shop name, even though selling anything culinary online would be WAY down the line, if at all.  But I figured it would be best to grab it now, in case it gets grabbed by someone later. I know this lesson from branding Earthenwood.  It's very frustrating if someone buys up something using your business name and sits on it, so it's best to get it all under your control from the start.

In addition to the logo and graphic work, I have started thinking about packaging and display... which is another love of mine.  Again, it's kind of hard to design packaging for a product that doesn't yet exist, but I can design the overall feel.  What materials do I like, what colors?  What kind of "feel" would I want my products to have and what kind of packaging will best show them off?  If I have a table or booth at a market, what kind of display could I have? From business cards to product bags to signage to tablecloths...I like to think of the entire package, not just the product.  Mostly this means a lot of daydreaming while on Pinterest or packaging sites like Papermart.

Since I plan to pair up my baked goods with my hand painted ceramics, which are linear and illustrative and mostly black and white, I decided to go with black and white graphics.  I am mostly drawn to white porcelain in my ceramic work, so I want to use a lot of black accents for display and packaging for some contrast.  I will likely add some grocery-kraft-paper brown in the mix, too, because I have always loved kraft brown and I think it warms up the stark black and white.  It also brings in a bit of the "wood" element of the store name. I am imagining the cutest little bakery themed booth with all of these things! See how much fun it is for me to daydream?