Boutique ice cream shop rebrands to start their own, neighborhood-focused business
When the Pedersens came to Beutler Ink with their project, they were looking for help rebranding two of their ice cream shops to create a separation between their stores and the franchise they were previously part of.
Understanding the importance of both visual and verbal brand identity, our team had questions about more than just the design: How do we maintain brand equity and trustworthiness with their existing customer base when switching over to the new identity? How do we reassure their audience that the quality product they expect to receive was simply getting a facelift under the same ownership? How do we maintain a sense of familiarity and intimacy in this boutique shop across each of their neighborhood-focused locations, while also appealing to a younger, discerning crowd? And how do we do this all on a conservative budget?
Signage mockup of the new logo
With the redesign of the shops’ interiors already underway, we had the unique challenge of distilling the new, fledgling aesthetic into a timeless, scalable, and universally appealing name and logo identity, while also working with the client on best practices when it comes to agency work and creative feedback. Our goal was to create something that felt approachable and familiar, with many visual cues pointing to the quality of their product and the mom-and-pop nature of the store.
The Solution
To meet these challenges, we proposed these deliverables:
Naming Study
Logo Design
Menu Design
We started first with a truncated naming study to give the ice cream shop a new identity, and separate it from its franchise name, Paradis. Aiming to fall in alignment with their mom-and-pop ethos, we presented the name “Moo Moo Mia” to elicit a sense of comfort and familiarity, while alluding to one of the owners herself. Moo Moo Mia was quickly a favorite from amongst the options presented, so we moved forward with developing a moodboard based on the interior design to make sure our logo aesthetic fell in alignment with the brick-and-mortar space—with the goal of creating a seamless experience for consumers.
6
Name Presented
4
Unique logo options presented
3
Menus created
Delivery
The goal for the moodboard was to serve as a source of inspiration as our team set out to liven up the previous branding, and to create something with an energy that was both comfortable and on-trend with competitors in the space. It was important to land on a firm aesthetic at this stage, since this boutique shop didn’t have much need or budget for fully formed brand guidelines. It was important to our team to remain flexible and execute premium content in spite of this limitation.
Once the aesthetic direction was established, it was time to create the logo itself; and the Pedersens quickly landed on an option that captured the feeling of nostalgia with retro details and a mix of playful script and softened sans-serif typefaces.
While the details of the logo were being refined, we created a menu based on the selected aesthetic and interior stylings. Our goal was to match the aesthetic put forth from the logo and moodboard, making sure to focus on consistency in our design decisions to create a brand that instilled trust on behalf of the consumer.
Outcome
The Pedersens chose to work with us because of our ability to approach their new brand from a strategic standpoint, relying on research and objectivity to create something that would meet each of their goals. We pride ourselves on staying on top of industry trends which allows us to work with clients of all shapes and sizes—ensuring that on top of great design, we’re able to impart best practices, too.
