First Step - Brainstorming.
What is Swinging Mercury.
The pursuit of calling something my own.
I began this project with a clear idea of what I wanted the final product to be...and as you will soon be able to tell it quickly transformed.
This entire project stemmed from my love for East Coast Swing Dancing. I used to go swing dancing on the weekends with my friends and these are memories that will stay with me forever. Naturally, I wanted this to drive my inspirations for Swinging Mercury.
Off to a completely different start, but at least it’s a start.
I began brainstorming/searching vintage, distressed, bohemian, styled work and began the long (and ever-changing) process of creating a brand I could call my own.
Below are the initial sketches and drafts I created for my brand. While going through this process and receiving feedback from my peers, I learned the importance of being flexible, staying open-minded, and realizing the first drafts tend to not be the final design.
Here is a link to the whole Brand Pitch
Now here are some of the images/artwork that inspired me. I did not create these. In all of them I fell in love with the distressed textures and the movement of the art. At this point, I still was planning on making this brand swing dancing brand.
My own distressed illustrations - a process.
Below are some illustrations I created at the beginning of this project. The words floating in my mind: distressed, odd, grunge, texture, colors and movement.
The second cluster of photographs was some of the art on clothing that I fully expected to be the entire project end goal, boy, was I mistaken.
Changing, changing, and more changing. 180 turnaround.
Now, I will throw a wrench in this entire project, yay! This project drastically changed. Instead of a vintage, swing dancing aesthetic I decided to create a brand based solely on streetwear lifestyle. I kept the distressed look, but the whole project completely changed looks and aesthetics.
I still kept the name as it's something I hold dear to me and still gives me warm memories and nostalgia. After the drastic change in style I began working on creating completely different logos. I wanted to keep the circular shape and try to turn that into an eye/moon. I added the "melting" aspect to hint at the actual element Mercury and the damage it can cause when handled incorrectly.
Here’s the Swinging Mercury style guide
Alright! Branding time - again.
Swinging Mercury - take two.
Directly below are the logo's I created and launched at the beginning of my new brand.
Below those is the finalized logo.
Clarity.
One of the best things about going through a big changing process is the opening of the mind. Because I knew what I didn't want to do with this, it helped narrow the focus on what I did want this brand to be!
Below are the beginnings of the end brand. All illustrations were done/created by me.
Insight.
The next step of this project was to create a "Look Book". This is the overall "feeling" of the brand and how others would view it.
The Swinging Mercury Brand Statement: Swinging Mercury is all about self expression and the passion for life. It was developed through the love of dark aesthetics, streetwear, distressed design and the curiosity of the unknown. We want to explore the nitty gritty side of design and provide you with graphics that are perfectly imperfect. We are here, ready to chase the passion for life and self discovery with you. Live to love the imperfections.
Flat design.
The last leg of this project was actually placing these designs on mockups. I hung onto the eye idea and the effects of mercury.
Many find this style of art to be weird, and perhaps it is, but It tells a story.
One of the biggest challenges when looking for mockups was actually finding ones that fit your brand aesthetic. I spent hours sifting through mockups I would never use until eventually I decided if I could not find any appropriate mockups I would just create my own. Every mockup you see below were first free stock images, which I then manipulated and made my own mockup.
Make it real, right?
One of the most exciting parts of this project was actually being able to bring these designs to real life! Below is one of the many designs I created on real people.
This is a wrap!
Thank you for taking time to view this project! I had a lot of fun designing and creating the Swinging Mercury brand. I learned so much about the importance of flexibility, brainstorming, open-mindedness and embracing the little imperfections of everyday life.