King’s Kin – Process – Joshua Santos

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and classical vibe.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.

Traditional and modern merges in King's Kin, a fashion brand I conceived that aims to recapture the basics of the old with the boldness of the contemporary. Borrowing ideas from the classical era, King's Kin is designed with a solid structure, modular and rich distinct patterns and textures.

I approached the brand identity for King's Kin that is faithful to the brand's personality, capturing the mix of confidence with its piercing sharp letter mark together with reserved opaque palettes.

Inspiration

Inspired by renaissance art and architecture, I created King's Kin as an attempt to imitate the vibrancy and spirit of the classical era.

Renaissance was a crucial time full of cultural revolutions in the arts, music, and philosophy that shaped the course of our history. King's Kin aims to embody a glimpse of that time.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.

Visual Identity

As a fashion brand, the idea of structure and construction is a prevailing theme, so I drew inspiration from classical cathedrals such as St. Basil's Cathedral and Notre Dame of Paris. With a noticeable triangular shape from each church, I then established its visual language.

I created a short animation showing its shift to a complete logotype. I used a base font Bajern, a modernized blackletter font, and customized it to give more weight.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.

Flexibility

The triangle is designed to be modified and visually unify King's Kin on different platforms such as banners, social media, and posters. It is vital that the visual identity works on varying compositions, giving more life to the brand and further strengthening its recognition.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.

Color Scheme

Color is one aspect that motivates the King's Kin brand. Renaissance paintings have an abundance of lively, vibrant colors that adds character and impact to the story. I ultimately chose Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the Horatii for its beautiful combination of colors and a slight connection of the subject matter to the brand.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.

Application

This showcases how the logo works on different items, from stationery to tote bags and mobile. Although King's Kin is not a real brand, it is important that the logo translates well on real-world applications.

A brand identity project for a fashion upstart with a contemporary and vintage vibe.