Co-Author: Coaching & Development
Background
When my father retired, he asked me if I could design the brand identity of his new coaching business. His prospective clients included business executives, so we wanted to make something polished, upscale and unique enough to stand out from the crowd.
Discovering the Brand
When I interviewed my client about his professional identity, he had little to say about himself and a lot to say about the people and books that got him to where he was in life. The concept of “co-authoring” was something he got from a book and a name he was considering for his business. These aspects inspired me to hone in on book and library motifs, because I believed this direction would encompass the emergent core of the brand: wise, professional, and relationship oriented. This direction also solved a problem I was running into with creating a brand that was warm and personable without making it feminine like most examples I could find in my research. Books, especially in contemporary times, are associated with warmth, self-betterment, and patience, as well as thorough, intelligent authority.
Above: Co-Author mood boards
Above: Finalized Co-Author logo
Visual Identity
To bring Co-Author’s audience into the “inner library” of my client, the brand mediums they would interact with, like the Co-Author website and business cards, would be designed to make them feel like they were reading through one of the many books in my client’s collection. They would find inspiring quotes from those who educated my client, scribbled notes emphasizing key points, and the subtle warmth of old, textured pages. As well, in order to make the brand feel truly from-the-heart, I went through my client’s old collection of books and work notebooks so that I could scan his little notes and embellishments to add as decorative elements.
Above: Website layout exploration showcasing concepts for the header, hero, dark brown background sections to break up the page, and decorative elements scanned from my client’s notebooks
Above: Co-Author business cards. To make them more memorable and to convey that my client draws his professional knowledge from a rich library of people and books, the cards have unique quotes
Finished Website
Because I previously used Squarespace to build my own website, I knew that several of my ideas for the Co-Author website might be difficult to pull off without using custom CSS. Though I did not have the time or skills to do everything I planned for my client’s website, I am proud I could accomplish some of my stronger ideas like integrating custom decorative elements that resized to fit different screen sizes.
Above: Co-Author website on MacBook and iPhone
Above: Co-Author homepage
Conclusion
Co-Author allowed me to continue developing my web-design skills and taught me how to build brands that are personal to my clients. I was delighted with the little gimmicks I came up with (like the scanned decorative elements from my client’s notes and library of quotes from favorite books to put on branded materials) because they were unlike any of the competing brands I discovered from my research. I’ve always admired designers like Chip Kidd for their ability to find inspiration from personal, everyday sources, and this project help prepare me for future client projects focused on capturing client’s unique voices.