Project BrieF

A concept rebrand of a local record store in my hometown, Roselle, IL. Starting as an online-only business, they didn’t want to lose their DIY design roots that were deeply tied to historic (and publicly available) Alice in Wonderland illustrations penned by Sir John Tenniel in 1865.

DELIVERABLES
Logo, Business Cards, Instagram Carousel, Window Poster, T-Shirts, Tote Bag

The Store

I’d been driving past it since it opened a couple years ago. It’s tucked away next to my dentist, a daycare, and the sports apparel store that services the local high-school athletics. With a simple neon “Records” sign, it felt like one of those places that’s hiding a beautiful story inside.

I went in and met the owner of the company, Steve, who quickly let me know that he didn’t have a budget for any sort of branding work. But I wasn’t interested in making money or Steve using my designs – I just wanted a real-world prompt to riff off of. Why not stay local? Besides, I love music, antique-y things, and nice folks.

THE NEW LOGO

The heart and concept was in the right place for sure! When speaking to Steve about his inspiration, he made it a point to say that many of his customers loved his image of Alice holding a record. We couldn’t lose those ties.

That said, the bulk of business for Steve happens online via Ebay and other online retail platforms. His logo would need to be scalable, memorable, and simplified. It also needed a little bit of character that would make it feel like a local record store, not suit ‘n tie retail.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?”  -Lewis Carroll

I found ways to incorporate the wonked-out nature of the source material – namely with the hidden keyhole motif. I also used an ever-so-slightly off “E” in the wordmark. Is it a little crazy? Sure, but that’s what Mr. Carroll would’ve done.

Bringing it together

The concept deliverables all ended up incorporating the new logo, while bringing back the iconic illustrations as brand elements which would imply that Alice and her friends are discovering the “Record Wonderland”.

I let the characters bring imply their personalities on the pieces which turns out to be a ton of fun! I always laugh at the business card (pictured above). I also made use of a white/orange duality across items that help imply a shift through realities. Much like Alice falling down the rabbit hole, most pieces have their own “rabbit hole moment”.