Last summer I was contacted by Seattle based design agency Modern Species about a rebranding project for a organic market in Tacoma. They had seen my foodie illustrations on Pinterest and felt that my approach would be perfect for their client. Marlenes Market and Deli is a natural food store that offers organic, sustainably produced foods, beauty care and household products that was established in 1976, with two stores.
We started with a Skype call to discuss the specific requirements and applications of the illustrations they needed. Much of it would be for in store promotions and signage, that could be changed seasonally. They already had a list of icons they wanted based on seasonal produce. They referred to my images that they'd found on Pinterest ( I'm going to say it again folks - Pinterest is the No 1 go to resource for commissioning art directors) and felt I was well grounded in food illustration.
So for Spring they considered asparagus, kale, cherries, peas and rainbow chard. Summer was grapes, scallion, strawberry and watermelon. And other associated icons for Autumn and winter, along with hand lettering and a seasonal flower/ foliage.
Branding is a long process as at each stage the client needs to view and make make decisions before moving on. Starting with initial sketches, and I always like to give them a choice of say 3 versions of an acorn, the client gives feedback, I make amendments, move onto several colour versions and wait for feedback again. Often if the client is very specific in what they're wanting to see I have to factor that into my timeframe.
Modern Species were able to take my single icons and create what you see below. They wanted the ability to construct their owns patterns, by mixing and matching the various fruit, vegetable, flowers and hand lettering that I had supplied. So Marlene's promotional materials could be swapped around easily picking food icons from Spring and Fall for example.
I'm thrilled to see my art applied like this and love seeing the considered seasonal approach that this delivers. Although the branding has not been rolled across their stores I cannot wait to see a few pics of their in-store signage when they do.
