Case Study: DTR Independent Shops
DTR Independent Shops is a diverse collective of independently owned specialty retail shops in the Downtown Raleigh district.
The goal was to design a brand that felt sincere, celebratory, approachable, upbeat, and kind to reflect the uniting characteristics of this diverse collective of shops. The brand identity also needed to work within the context of other local downtown-based collectives like Visit Raleigh and the iconic, ubiquitous DTR sticker without being confused with those groups.
Discovery & Brand Strategy_
We kicked off the project with a brand strategy survey and a discovery workshop where I guided discussions and activities to make each of the over twenty shop owners in the collective feel heard and understood. We discussed brand archetypes, tone, and I had the group complete a discovery questionnaire full of deep, thoughtful questions. By encouraging a collaborative environment, I gained the trust of the whole group early on, leading to a smoother overall project.
The brand strategy deck I presented to the group.
The final slide of the strategy deck is where I presented the proposed design direction. I pulled visuals to illustrate the visual vocabulary I had in mind. By communicating clearly in both written and visual language, the group was primed with a clear expectation of what to expect in the logo presentations.
By communicating so clearly with the group and cultivating a culture of trust and mutual respect, I successfully sold the design direction in a single meeting to all 24 stakeholders. This enabled me to swiftly move on to logo concepts and keep the project on schedule.
Logo & Brand Identity_
The final logo & brand style deck.
After four rounds of refinement, all involved stakeholders approved the final brand identity, including the sub-brand for their main event, 3rd Thursday. I designed a variety of collateral for them including a landing web page, digital promotional material, stickers, window decals, a press one-sheet, and a hand-illustrated walking map of the member shops to ensure that every touchpoint is instantly recognizable and also eye-catching.
Stickers worthy of defacing a laptop.
Results_
The brand identity and marketing tools I devised for DTR Independent Shops have become recognizable in the landscape of Downtown Raleigh. On a practical level, the group can now market itself with polish and ease due to the wealth of collateral they have at hand. They’ve grown their social media following and have increased community engagement.