Spoke: Small Business Branding

  • Annelise Nelson
Personal Project
Create a brand mark and identity for a new bicycle shop.

Background
Shop owner Jack loves bikes and everything associated with them (as do I) and his shop is a reaction to escalating fuel prices and people's desire to get fitter and enjoy the outdoors. The shop is for bike enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes and sells items for all price points and ages. Jack wants customers to feel comfortable in the store whether they are first timers to seasoned lycra types. The staff are expert at all things bike, but above all they are approachable, personal and hands on.

Concept
I took a real close look at a bicycle for this brief! I went through the names of all the parts and decided I like the sound of "spoke". It hinted at cycling without being obvious. It also meant that I could explore spokes—how they are threaded, what they look like from different angles—and use that to inform my design of graphic elements. The result is a custom typeface and a clean, friendly yet technical identity. I had a lot of fun with the "bespoke" range for more specialist equipment too!