Brand Design: Campus Cakes

Role: Brand Designer
Methods: Personas
Tools: Illustrator
Duration: August 2021 - September 2021

Summary

In March of 2020, my friend Abbey began baking cakes to quell her boredom during Michigan's temporary lockdown. Her friends and family began to notice her cake decorating skills and soon after, she was running her own custom cake business out of her home kitchen. She had createad a COVID-themed bakery called made with gLOVEs, advertising her health-conscious baking practices and passion for her work. However, as her business has grown over time, she wanted to transition her business into something less focused on the (hopefully) receding pandemic, and more focused on her current community at the University of Michigan.

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Problem Statement: Made With gLOVEs is lacking a timeless, recognizable brand.

Solution: Develop a new business name and brand identity.

User Research

As a University of Michigan student living on campus, Abbey's customer base is centered around the Ann Arbor community. However, she started her business in her hometown of Walled Lake, so it was important to her to keep all of these customers in mind. Through speaking with Abbey about her past customers and intended customers with her new brand identity, I developed personas describing our new intended customer base.

Logo Design

Abbey's signature cake design features unique toppings and a drip design around the outside of the cake. I wanted to bring that staple into her new logo. In addition, Abbey asked for a bubbly logo with an energetic and welcoming feel. I used this information to design the following logo, with many color variations.