This was the inaugural project of my tenure as CD of my studio, The Bad Collective. Spirit Shop was a new women's wellness store and community center opening a storefront in Brooklyn in 2017. They wanted a brand that felt both retro and current, and spoke of femininity without being cliche. We built a brand that centered around inclusivity (particularly around including non-white and non-cisgendered women and transgendered men) and visuals that felt feminine without directly referencing any female body parts or tropes. Spirit Shop specializes in alternative medicine, and customer education is a big part of their business. We gave them an educated but direct brand voice that would make their customers feel comfortable, and designed information delivery systems that felt academic but accessible. Retro type and soft colors gave their digital storefront and materials a soft, tactile feel. Amoebous illustrations hinted femininity without obviously imitating any female body parts that would indicate a cis-woman's body. We also were directly involved in production, working with Becky Carter Studios to develop the physical store, designing the website and web store, and designing all packaging, signage, and marketing materials. We also produced all product and marketing photos and built a mini studio beneath the store where they could shoot their own product photography. We were brought on to the project pretty late, so we accomplished all of this in only seven weeks.
We chose Recoleta, a new (at the time) retro-styled font to evoke memories of 70's new age shops, and give some feminine, curvilinear shapes for us to work with.
We created a soft color palette that felt tactile and soothing. It was important that the online experience mirrored the intimate feel of the shop, so we used a creamy white and blue-black to soften digital assets and make them feel more analog.
The client wanted illustration as a part of the branding, but we didn't want to fall in to new-age tropes or use images that would exclude non-cisgendered women, so we created a system of soft shapes that felt feminine and playful without being too specific. We also interpreted the shapes in different ways so they could fit a variety of applications and printing techniques like the sealing stickers and tote bags below.
Packaging for their trademark herb blends, which could be purchased by weight. We focused on sustainability, and eliminated plastic from all packaging. This bag and label was made from recycled materials, printed with bio-ink, and was 100% recyclable and biodegradable.
We needed educational material to feel accessible and easy to understand, yet have an authoritative voice. Steaming is a controversial yet ancient and revered practice that can be intimidating, but the soft retro type and sweet illustrations help it feel approachable. We definitely walked a fine line with 70's new-agey tropes in the branding, but kept it tongue-in-cheek enough to not take itself too seriously.
Spirit Shop focused on sourcing goods from small businesses that were women or POC owned, sustainable, and gentle on the body. On the online shop, we wanted to showcase their expert curation and the exceptional quality of their wares.
In their Brooklyn shop, customers could relax in a beautiful, intimate space and take advantage of the knowledgeable and well-trained staff. We tried to maintain that feel on their online store through language, a large index of resources and educational materials, a beautifully curated shop, and a direct line to the founders where they could answer questions about ingredients, practices, and methodology.
Spirit Shop was built to service those who were struggling with their mental or physical health, often surrounding taboo or intimate issues like menstruation, childbirth, menopause, sex, or hormone therapy, and we wanted to create a sense of comfort and safety for those vulnerable customers seeking help. We left no stone unturned in creating moments of tactility and relaxation, from the shop lighting to the velvety finish of their business cards.
