Shari Lorbiecki and Lisah Vander Heiden, the owners of Bead Girls Jewelry, shared with DG what they like in a logo, their design ideas and color choices as well as the message they want to convey for their business. The pair’s business is profitable, but what they really want is an identity that will help boost them into a higher price point in the beaded jewelry market.

DG art director Sam Berkes says, “Our original thoughts were to create something elegant that relayed the message of importance and wealth, but at the same time grounded itself in order to appeal to a wide audience. We didn’t want the logo to peg the Bead Girls as selling cheap frilly jewelry, but we also wanted to show that their merchandise is available to anyone who wants it.” Bead Girls also need a look that will help distinguish them from the myriad of competitors in the market.

Initial suggestions from Bead Girls included a logo with an illustration depicting two women. Berkes generated a number of logos using various female illustrations. “We received conflicting comments,” says Lorbiecki, “when we showed family, friends and coworkers the initial logos. Comments included: very Barnum and Bailey, looks like a doily, elegant, retro, looks like a flapper from the ’20s, June Cleaver, Mrs. Munster and old-fashioned.”

After round one of the logos, Bead Girls suggested “a little more Audrey Hepburn goes shopping.” However, after several more rounds of concepts, Bead Girls dismissed the illustrations as an option at all, feeling any female illustration would limit the range of ages that could be appealed to. Instead, they suggested a simple logo incorporating scrollwork. Various scrollwork designs were presented and eventually Berkes found one with the right fit for the logo.

1. Original logo
The Bead Girls sought a funky, fun style to promote a line of beaded jewelry by using the font Gigi as their main logotype.

2. Revised logo
The main goal of the identity redesign was to offer a different feeling to the brand— to go from funky and fun to more elegant and high style.

3. Font
The new logo uses Aeneas Light to give it a light, yet stable foundation and luxurious touch.

4. Color
The color scheme chosen utilizes a single color on the logo to save on cost, with a two-color scheme available for a wider range of collateral and web materials.

5. Logos: round one
In the initial brainstorming meeting, Vander Heiden and Lorbiecki discussed competitor logos they liked or disliked, as well as possibilities they wanted to explore for the logo. Illustrations of women drawn in long, thin lines dominated. They also wanted to possibly incorporate scrollwork into the logo. DG art director Sam Berkes presented the duo with the following three options, incorporating royaltyfree illustration and scrollwork.

The font Aeneas Light was selected for the logotype design. It’s a nice match to the scroll design ultimately paired with it, as it’s elegant, yet sturdy. When viewed in smaller applications, the type is easily legible—a concern that was emphasized throughout the design process—on business cards, packaging and letterhead.

The color themes considered were brown/pink and burgundy/turquoise. PMS 511, a dark burgundy color, was chosen for the final logo. A warm tone seemed to provide the logo with strength and importance. The combination of elements reinforces that Bead Girls Jewelry is a modern and elegant company producing high quality beaded jewelry.

Throughout the logo selection process, cost factors were considered. Each of the female illustrations retail for around $100 for a low-resolution version—well-within Bead Girls’ budget. To obtain the royalty-free scrollwork, Bead Girls purchased a one-month subscription to Shutterstock for $159. Berkes spent 20 hours on logo concepts and designs, roughly totaling $1600 for his time.

This year-long department One Business, One Plan takes a break for our June/July Makeovers annual, but stay tuned for the Aug/Sep issue, in which we present a website design for Bead Girls Jewelry, as well as compare costs for a variety of site capabilities and functionality.

6. Logos: round two
Cost for any images in the the logo was a concern throughout the process, so Berkes selected a number of inexpensive royaltyfree images.

Bead Girls decided the female illustration used in the first round of logos was too harsh. They were also not sure they liked the typeface used.

Berkes generated several variations on the initial logos, incorporating typefaces such as Curlz and Gigi that Vander Heiden and Lorbiecki especially liked. However, these did not pair well with the scrollwork, nor did they express high style. Several new illustrations were considered but ultimately discarded. “Each person, each age that we talked to viewed the girls differently,” says Lorbiecki.

7. Logos: round three
Unsure which direction to take, Bead Girls asked Berkes to pair their favorite from the illustration options with a new font and scrollwork. But concerns about turning away any potential age groups led Bead Girls to request a design with only type and scrollwork.

8. Logos: round four
Bead Girls liked the scrollwork options in this round, but weren’t sold on any of the three as a final logo.

9. Final selection
Elements from two of the logo options in round four were combined to make the final logo. Paired with Aeneas Light, the scrollwork in the final logo says elegance and style. Vander Heiden purchased a one-month subscription to the royaltyfree imagery site Shutterstock for the right to use the scrollwork in the logo.

Read the first installment of this yearlong series.