The owners of Willow Boutique came to me needing a logo for their new jewelry and accessory store based in Wilmette, IL. The boutique specialized in jewelry featuring natural stones set in clean and simple settings of fine metals. Along with the natural jewelry selection, stylish handbags and belts could be found. We needed to create a logo that embraced the natural, boho aesthetic of the brand.
The word “Willow” itself made me think of the curvy nature of willow tree branches and how they dance in the wind. So I decided the name of the shop should capture that graceful movement as well. With thousands of fonts at your disposal, you would think there would be one that would suit. But at a first run through, I couldn’t find any that fully captured what I was looking for, and, honestly, who has that kind of time to search?!
As you can see. None of the fonts were just right. I also tried to incorporate graphics that would help illustrate the accessories carried at the boutique. Those weren’t really working either. It made the logo look kind of tacky.
I decided to take to the sketchbook and play around with some hand lettering. After pages of writing out the word “Willow”, one finally captured the wispy aesthetic I was looking for. I scanned it into the computer and went to truing it up in Adobe Illustrator. I went with a charcoal brush to get the effect of a handwritten word.
And finally! We got it! The handwritten aspect of the word captured the graceful movement that reminded me of the willow tree and embraced the natural elements of the brand. We went on to create business cards, gift certificates and the store sign with the logo. I wish I had gotten a photo of the store sign. That was really cool to see my work up on a storefront.
I wish I could send you to this boutique for your handbags, jewelry and other accessory needs. Alas, the store has since closed its doors 😞
I’d love to hear what you think of this design. Tell me in the comments below.
Thanks for checking out my work and reading along!
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