Beginning of the Logo Process

Ok so I need to explain some things. I am not going to be a fashion designer. Though that would be cool, my emphasis is in GRAPHIC DESIGN and the main part of my show is to do the design work for a fictitious business and my client happens to be this high-end retro re-design boutique. so I have made a list of all the graphic design elements that I will design

Logo
Identity (business card, letterhead, ect.)
Clothing tags
Store bags
Earring holders
Necklace holders
Magazine ads
Size tags inside the clothes
Window advertisement posters (with photographs)
And I am contemplating some sort of website incorporated into it somehow. Not sure if it will sell the clothes or profile the designers or just talk about the store. I don’t know.

I feel like I need to have the product done before I can really dive into parts of the design because I need photographs of the product. I have however been working on the logo. Here is my process so far and where I am at

I started with some colors and tried to mix and match them to find a something that fit. Some of the combinations don’t work because there is not enough contrast between light and dark. I put the image of the lace over the colors to create texture. It felt plain in just solid color. I just used a picture I found online, but I intend on creating from scratch a design that will look like lace.

Then I finally found colors that I like, black, cool deep gray, cream and light cool beige. “Where’s the color?!?!?!” You might ask. I started out with color and was thinking about making the clothing match the logo, but then I decided that was really silly because seasons change and the color of the clothes in a store changes drastically. So I decided if the color of the store was simple the color in the clothes and product would pop out. I really liked the look of the dark dramatic gray with the light reversed type. It gave me a feeling of posh and high end. At this point I had fumbled around with names for the store. I tied to have words that hinted at what the store was all about. I tried words that related to designers and artists like studio and couture, then I tried words that described the clothes like lace, ruffle and chic, then I tired words that were a part of sewing like interface and top stitch, THEN I tried words that referred to where the original clothes came from (thrift stores) like thrift, second hand and rags. I finally decided on the name Studio Two. Studio is for the artists and designers and Two because the clothes are getting a second change. When I explained this to my boyfriend he asked why not call it Studio Second. I told him that second was hard to say when put after studio and that the number 2 and word two were so much more chic and stylish!

So now that I have the colors and name…TADA!! Right?!? Well not exactly. I liked the dramatic flood of dark color, but when I reversed it I liked it better. The dark speaks modern which doesn’t really fit the style of the shop. We want shabby chic which makes me think of light flowing fabrics, torn edges, and airy lace. so we will go with the eggshell cream background. I am keeping the flood of gray in mind because I still may use it somewhere, just maybe in a different application.