Background
Katie and her team are dedicated to helping the modern-day millennial remove flashy antics from the kitchen and replace them with good old-fashioned curiosity, confidence, and common sense.
Smith & Sylvan was brought on board to assist Katie and her team in establishing a strong visual brand presence that would help the Karvin Katers brand stand out among its peers. Our goal was to help Katie gain clarity on what Karvin Katers truly stood for and develop an identity that could stand the test of time.
Aside from creating a new trademark for the Karvin brand, we were also engaged to support in crafting Karvin Katers brand story, assist with market research, and develop a comprehensive brand guideline.
The challenge.
Collaborating with Katie and the Karvin Katers team was an incredibly enjoyable and exhilarating experience. We engaged in weeks of intensive strategy sessions to align with Katie’s vision and mission. The primary challenge lay in selecting the most fitting direction, given the wealth of input from Katie’s clear brand vision.
Our collective focus aimed at capturing the quintessential elements that set Karvin Katers apart as the courteous disruptors within their industry. With Katie’s profound cultural heritage as the bedrock of her brand, our approach involved extensive research into her Dominican roots, establishing a brand narrative as the foundational step preceding the creation of the visual identity. This narrative served as our guiding map, providing invaluable insights as we began assembling all the brand elements.
The visual identity we crafted was intended to transcend time, bearing the weight of the brand’s story and heritage. Ensuring the brand’s resonance across generations was pivotal to us.
Building the concept.
We initiated our journey with several weeks of immersive research into Katie’s cultural history, unearthing fascinating avenues. Our aim was to strike a balance among the pivotal elements important to Katie and her team. We ventured into concepts embracing a native essence yet tailored uniquely to her niche. Through numerous rapid iterations, we explored an extensive array of options, constantly refining until reaching a pivotal juncture where we realized the culmination of our exploration.
Arriving at this juncture marked the beginning of a deconstruction process, stepping back to identify a simplified solution that best complemented the essence of the Karvin Katers brand. Throughout our exploration, one common thread stood out—the word ‘confidence.’ Recognizing this as a central theme, we sought a direction for the logomark/symbol that exuded a sense of confidence in its look and feel.
Our solution.
The solution lay in crafting a mark that encapsulated the essence of Clarissa and her purpose. As we charted the roadmap for her brand, it became evident that our direction needed to be adaptable, distinctive, and simplistic to resonate across various platforms and leave a lasting impression on her audience.
After numerous conceptual iterations, we arrived at a trademark that authentically mirrored Clarissa’s mission and encapsulated the timeless qualities essential for a strong mark.
This mark intertwines four elongated C’s, forming a striking abstract X framed by two half circles, cleverly representing the dual C’s in Clarissa’s brand, ‘Created / Clarissa.’ It embodies a camera lens, with the X as the focal point, subtly signaling Clarissa’s role as an industry disruptor.
Within this central X lies a negative space ‘x,’ a complementary branding asset used to guide the creation of a customized logotype for her name. This tailored typographic layout mirrors the weight and curves of the logomark, fostering a seamless integration between the two elements.
This mark symbolizes Clarissa’s professional commitment while maintaining a playful edge, effectively addressing the key aspects expected of a trademark. It stands not just as a unique emblem but as a vessel for Clarissa’s narrative and those of her clients and audience.
Primary Identity
The primary identity was developed specifically as the brand identifier for the Karvin Katers. This beautiful visual mark and its accompanying marks stand as strong visual assets that will allow the company to be branded internally and externally.
Karvin Katers: Elevating Culinary Excellence
We are proud to have partnered with Karvin Katers to develop a cohesive and dynamic suite of visual brand identities for their innovative secondary brand outlets. Each identity is crafted to resonate with the specific audience and purpose of these distinct offerings, ensuring a unified yet versatile brand presence. The visual identities for each program borrows from the abstract blade which is used to form the V in the Karvin name, maintaining a consistent tie the full Karvin Katers icon/symbol and brand.
Typography / Fonts
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Color Palette
Identity Symbolism
Primary Brand Pattern
Lifestyle Mockups
