Logotype - Claire's Accessories

I had decided to rebrand 'Claire's Accessories' because I think the logo looks too simple and outdated. I want it to look more childlike and sweet so that it attracts their target market which is children aged 3-18 years. I want it represented so that people know exactly what type of shop it is and what they sell just by looking at the logo (which it doesn't currently do). When I think about Claire's, I immediately think about the 'trendy' things they stock that I would've loved as a younger girl. I think that the shop is aimed at working class people as the items they stock are affordable and they have a wide selection of products for young children.

I have researched into the company and have found out that Claire's Accessories is a retail store that was founded in the 1960s in Chicago, U.S. They currently have their headquarters based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, U.S. They are made up of 2 merged fashion accessory retailers (merged with Fashion Tress Industries in 1973). They have a high reputation of being the worlds number 1 ear piercer and currently has over 3,000 stores worldwide, located in 46 different countries. They want to inspire women around the world to express their own unique styles so in that, they have both an online and in-store shop that stock cosmetics, hair products, jewellery and provides an ear piercing service. Claire's target customers are aimed at girls aged 3-18 years and use 'role model' celebrities such as Katy Perry to promote and endorse their products to attract girls further. They want to be seen as 'a girls best friend'. They use most social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to attract a wider audience and interact with their consumers. I struggled to find where the name 'Claire' came from; I found a source somewhere that suggests it was a popular baby-boomer name in the 1960s but I cannot find any evidence that confirms it.

The only competitor that I have found to be of a similar business to Claire's is Accessorize, which also sell jewellery, cosmetics and hair products. However, I don't think Accessorize are suitable for children under 8.

The rebrand of the logo will appear on their packaging such as their tags, receipts, social media websites and online store website.

After a discussion with people on my course, I have decided to keep to the name 'Claire's'. I initially felt like the name was archaic because I would now associate the name Claire with an older middle aged person, the name doesn't seem adolescent. Having said that, if I were to change the name to another name, in a couple of years time the chances that the current new name I picked may become outdated like 'Claire's' and so then they would have to keep changing names to current and youthful names which is hugely inconvenient for a business. The reason why I want it to be a name and not a word is because I want to keep in mind that Claire's wants to be 'a girls best friend' in which it makes sense to have an actual first name for the store as it seems more personal and more like an actual best friend. The name 'Claire's' is also widely well know worldwide as it has a reputation this means that people such as parents, grandparents know this store even though they don't shop here for themselves, they will still know what 'Claire's' is. So to completely change the name may result in existing consumers to become confused, especially children that already know the store by its name 'Claire's'.

These images have been taken in Claire's Accessories in the Leeds Trinity shopping centre.

These were the previous Claire's logo. I think they look plain because it doesn't represent the store well.

I tired some and drawn typography. I tried to make my design look fun and quirky it would attract Claire's younger audience. I added heart and infinity symbols to make it look interesting and cute. I tried different calligraphy styles but I felt they all looked very similar and not very distinguishable.

I think this one looked quiet good because I thought it would represent a hair clip which will be significant for the products they sell in the store. I decided not to go further with this idea because some people may not understand what it might look unnecessary and random.

This one looks more suitable because its easy to read, simple and the heart dot makes it look more girly.

I also tried experimenting with digital typography but the felt limited with the fonts because I wanted fonts that looked fancy an these were the only ones that stood out to me. Some of these still look boring while others look over complicated.

Taking inspiration from my handmade typography, I chose the second one that I liked the most. I handmade the typography using the paint brush tool on Illustrator. I used a 5pt calligraphic brush to because I felt like it make it look more professional and personal at the same time. I slightly changed the 'r' and unjoined it on this one because I thought it may be difficult for children to read. It was very time consuming and I found it struggle as I don't really know how to use the software but I am proud of the outcome.

Colour tryouts:

The first colour is the same colour as the original logo. I wanted to make the logo a slightly lighter purple because it looked more feminine. Out of them all I would prefer the lighter one because I think children that come into the store will appreciate the softer shade.

I felt like a solid colour looked too boring so I tried using a gradient effect instead. I tried in both vertical and horizontal direction. I prefer the vertical gradient as it is more easily seen than the horizontal gradient.

Final designs:

This was the original final logo. I added the 'accessories' because I wanted to incorporate it from the original black Claire's logo. I like this because it looks dainty and sleek. I think it suits perfectly for the store and attracts the target audience well.

Although I liked the previous design, I decided to experiment some more. I put the first purple Claire's logo behind the gradient logo to make it look 3D and effective. I think this worked out well as it looks more detailed and lively.

In-situ:

Finally, I added the logo onto the store front and the website as these will be the places that the logo will be seen.