my role: Brand identity design, UX\Ui design, research and testing
The main goal of this case was to create a cohesive digital representation for the brand to transition to the European market. The studio already had its presence known and appreciated locally, my task was to create a cross-platform brand identity and an e-commerce website for the BC studio to make an impression on the new market and expand its customer base.
The business and the brand
Bespoke Creation Studio offers handcrafted furniture made with care and attention to detail, catering to a sophisticated eco-friendly audience who values unique designs and seeks fine craft pieces to furnish their space.
BC Studio centers the brand around a commitment to innovative sustainability and a proud cultural narrative, passionately creating sensory-satisfying experiences that last.
Key points of the brand identity design
Positioning Bespoke Creation Studio as the sophisticated craftsmen coming to the European furniture market - offering an authentic Turkish experience delivered in a modern and contemporary way - I needed to define an original brand identity that is clean, modern, and memorable.
Researching the market and the competitors, what stands out here, is the fact it's a family business. I highlighted that warmth and care with a vibrant but sophisticated color palette which allowed me to remove the risk of blending with the masses of other Turkish studios competing on the European market - who focus on visually communicating their presence in a cold and impersonal manner.
Walking the streets of Istanbul I was inspired by the mix of modern Turkish sans serif typography displayed alongside traditional calligraphy everywhere in the city, I wanted to mirror it in the wordmark that visually communicates a sense of elevation without feeling too exclusive, focusing on creating a modern rendition of traditional typography styles and representing a modern approach to a traditional product, in a premium yet approachable way.
The submark logo explores the use of letterforms within the ‘B’and ‘C’ creating a recognizable outline of a sofa, making direct reference to the brand's industry - furniture. The contrast between sans serif and hand-written font from the logo is extracted to create a recognizable brand symbol and stamp of approval across all brand touchpoints.
The submark logo explores the use of letterforms within the ‘B’and ‘C’ creating a recognizable outline of a sofa, making direct reference to the brand's industry - furniture. The contrast between sans serif and hand-written font from the logo is extracted to create a recognizable brand symbol and stamp of approval across all brand touchpoints.
My final choice of a triadic color palette balances supportive colors like warm gray, white, and black. Logomark's duotone treatment and wordmark's monochromatic treatment, create a sophisticated yet energetic feel that speaks to a broad age group. The muted yet rich tones make a visual connection to the common interior color options whilst the clean monochrome black and white base across brand touch-points for improved shelf recognition, catching attention and insistent brand memorability within the European market.
Allowing the customized typographic wordmark variations, a submark logo and a memorable color palette to balance each other builds the foundation and lets the surrounding brand language such as social media content and photography truly shine, whilst remaining informative and user-friendly to a range of age groups.
From the core identity through to brand language, website design, and social media presence, Bespoke Creation Studio's mission was to create a contemporary experience that appealed to the furniture lovers of Europe, putting a modern spin on the traditional and serving up an unforgettable experience that centers on the website.
Into the UX\UI world. Case study
I was able to visit the studio in person, test out the furniture pieces, and collect data about the customers. Later I built a user persona spectrum and visualized the pain points of custom-made furniture shopping and ordering processes to identify the key differences between the Turkish and European markets.
Process:
• Research
• Ideation
• Design
• Testing
My role:
Brand designer, UI design, UX design,
research, testing, collateral
Tools:
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop
Figma, Miro,
Readymag,
Recraft, GoDaddy
Challenge:
Create a website that introduces the brand to the multi-language European market, guides the user through the options and services, and makes ordering online and customizing furniture easily accessible.
Solution:
Opting for Google translate-provided translations of easy-to-digest English content instead of translating the site into dozens of European languages. The user journey and the pain points research improved potential clients' understanding of Bespoke Creation Studio's unique value while showcasing the service options and providing a cohesive, positive, and worry-free experience from start to finish.
Project duration:
Overall 5 weeks
Discovery & Research: 1 week
Design & testing: 4 weeks
The research stage. Perfecting the user flow and strategy
After familiarizing myself with the product my first bit of research was to complete a competitor analysis and define how to highlight the strong selling points of BC Studio - the only custom-made Turkish furniture studio on the European market with extensive custom variety of options - in the website structure and map.
Additionally, I wanted to clarify the social media strategy as soon as possible to lay the ground for the Studio expansion into a new market by going over the value for the customers, growing following in relevant geography, and announcing the launch of the new website when the time comes. I had regular meetings with the studio's owner and his PA, where I presented research data and the project development stages.
Ideation
I focused on information architecture, user flows, hierarchy, and UX writing. I also wanted to form a deeper understanding of the user's goals, needs, experiences, and behaviors.
So, I came up with two personas based on two services BC Studio offers: ordering a designer furniture piece and ordering a custom-made furniture piece.
I created Mia and Hanz to represent the users that turn to order furniture online (Mia wants to order a new sofa in a specific color and Hanz needs an affordable table that'd fit in his limited dining room space and match with the rest of the interior).
Focusing on the experience and driving users to interact and connect with the business
Objective: ordering custom-made furniture user flow key elements. It's essential to represent all customization options and guide the user through the process.
Highlights and notes
Differentiating between the options was essential to create 2 streamlines and let users know they can purchase design furniture from the shop as it is or order a custom piece. I needed to make sure the timeline of the order and delivery process was clear and I achieved it by creating an infographic that broke down the process into easy steps.
One of the goals was to grow the customers' database, so I decided to utilize communication channels like getting a consultation, a quick chatbot, and a newsletter. Having the option to subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of every page is meant to increase loyalty by encouraging users to sign up.
One of the goals was to grow the customers' database, so I decided to utilize communication channels like getting a consultation, a quick chatbot, and a newsletter. Having the option to subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of every page is meant to increase loyalty by encouraging users to sign up.
Designing this website has been a really rewarding project and it allowed me to blend functionality and storytelling together. My goal was to make it look very user-oriented and—above all—present its branding with one strong, united firm face, all through creating a platform that not only exposes the fine craftsmanship of Bespoke Creation Studio but also increases its brand narrative as it expands into the European market.
An example of AI help I used for social media content.
