Going into business - making a graphic identity

After a busy weekend I have been working on the project I have started with @evilhippie -
Ye Olde Steemshop

(If you haven't already, go see the profile here: @olde-steemshop)

First and foremost I have been making the graphic identity. Logos, fonts, lay out decisions etc.

When you normally make such things for others it can be quite a bore. People who order such work are mostly worried about how the new look will be conceived by their costumers, they are worried that the designer will go crazy with artistic creativity, and they are worried, just plain worried.

So most of the time what you will make for them is both boring and as edgy as a pillow. Probably sober though.

Making your own projects on the other hand is funny.

We decided on the name rather fast. We wanted to signal that this was a small, personal shop and not a large platform for everybody to use, so the Pub-like name and the Arts and Crafts style (mixed with a bit of old Games Workshop Warhammer aesthetics) was chosen without much ado. It will be fun and easy to remember, and the analogy in the real world we will try to mimic is a shop with two little old ladies who sell their own ceramics and watercolours and have invited a few of their friends to sell their art as well.

The little ladies at Ye Olde Steemshop

I choose an Old English font, but have been redrawing and spacing almost all the logos and names.

Curls and major redraws. Furthermore I have spaced and changed the letters when they got too close to each others.

The S-logo was made in a 1,75:1 aspect version so it would fit with the thumbnail, and a round version to fit the avatar.

I use Inkscape and Krita to all the work, drawing or improving the letters in freehand in Krita and then tracing it in inkscape. Then I make the initial effects in inkscape and then... back to Krita.

Ornament and separator lines have been made in free hand with a pen brush in Krita.

Lines

A rose ornament.

The next big thing will be to create a template for the actual offers Read here what it is all about. I suppose that now I have most of the larger parts like logo and name, and have a good idea how the style is supposed to be I will have considerable less work :)