Today we are zooming in on a favorite project of ours and exploring the creative process and brand identity design for Badinka.

A few years ago in 2014, we worked with Badinka on their logo, which was mainly a logotype with an integrated symbol. And recently we worked again to create a character to accompany the logo and incorporate the brand’s personality. So let us tell you more about the creative process.

Designing a brand identity

All tasks are different. Every client is looking for something different, but our creative process and design techniques are set because we’ve found out what works best for our team.

• Designing a logo

No matter its size or industry, every company has its history, aesthetic, and base identity. As designers, we sometimes work with brands that are soon to be launched, and our job is to tailor their first identity. Make a great first impression – something that will look attractive to the target audience.

• Redesigning a logo

When the task is to do a redesign, there are two possibilities. One – completely change the brand’s visual identity. Or do small changes and updates to breathe in new life to the old logomark. It’s like doing a renovation in an apartment – you build some new walls, take down others, change their color, bring in some decorations, etc. It’s about making something look better with what you already have. You can check our case study of the logo redesign of LIREX. The full story is here.

• Designing an additional symbol

In certain cases, like this one, our job consists of developing one’s identity by designing a symbol to go with the logo. This is a practice when the logo consists of a logotype and the goal is to sprinkle it with more character and make it more appealing. Overall, the tasks can be different, but the goal is always the same – create identities that will stand out among thousands of others.

Today we want to share our work for a clothing brand with a strong culture – Badinka – a Bulgarian brand with fans all over the world. The juicy colors and unique patterns аrе appealing to еveryone from ravers to sexy cosplay enthusiasts.

The Logotype Design

Back in 2014, we designed the logo, which consisted of lettering and an encrusted symbol. The goal was to have something easy to read but to have an element that speaks for the product. We got inspired by one of the main items the Badinka offered at the time – leggings with wild prints. The silhouette matched the A shape. To accentuate this element, we used pink to oppose the black color used in the other letters.

At the end of 2020, we teamed up with the founders, but this time to design a symbol that can fortify the image of Badinka. And not just а symbol but a character. The task’s specificity was that the character had to be attractive enough to be printed on clothes and used as a pattern. Something that fits well their esthetic and that symbolizes their spirit.

Character Design

A character logo design aims to personalize the brand. Personification is about bringing a face to the company in even greater detail. Our job was to create an anthropomorphic character. The ultimate goal of a character is to influence how people see a company and to make it more human-like. Just think of Pixar‘s lamp or Android‘s robot. They are accompanying the typography but what’s more, they both work great as stationary logos as well as animated characters. They bring this sparkle to the brand and bring it to life.

Our creative process

Brief and research

The creative process and design always begins with briefing the team. Since we are all already familiar with Badinka, their brand, and values, everyone in the office got excited. But let’s take a close up of our workflow. After the first brief, all designers on board the project start researching. When you focus on a subject, but let your mind wander while learning more about the specificity of a branch, fresh ideas come to you. This is why having a whole team working on your logo is the best thing you can do. You get a bunch of different points of view and approaches that work for you.

In the research phase, everyone in the team is researching different stuff because we all have a unique perspective that allows us to make various associations and look from a different angle. In the case of Badinka, while some were investing time to learn more about the festival spirit and clothing brands that target a similar audience, others were reading comments on the internet of fans of the brand to better understand how they feel and see the brand. Some of us watched videos from Burning Man and other festivals, and some were exploring Cos-Play. While everyone has a different approach, the goal is the same – find inspiration and a better understanding of the branch.

Brainstorming

Having few brainstorms is an important moment for the project. We are all present and participating. Therefore, we don’t criticize or reward ideas but try to open up possible solutions in an environment that feels safe for all. The initial brainstorming helps to generate some ideas. Thanks to its informal character this method encourages teammates to come up with some crazy ideas. The best moment is when someone drops the bomb, for a second everyone goes silent, but all of a sudden a thousand propositions how to better shape the idea come out. After the initial session, we always initiate a second brainstorm that we do after the research phase. The goal is to help one another to land on a better idea while exploring solutions even further and evaluate them.

Sketching time

After the shared thoughts, ideas and hilarious moments gathered in the main room, it’s time for some sketching. The whole team gets quiet. A large variety of options come out and we look and discuss them. Yes, this may take a while, but it’s totally worth it. Everyone can say which ones he/she considers as best and the work continues until those sketches are perfect. For Badinka the team had a great variety of options and they were all totally in different directions. Some wanted to work on a totem item, others on a creature character. The wild aspect of the brand was the aspect that was ethereal in all proposals.

Vectorising and refining

We picked up the best propositions and vectorized them. This is when you have the most flexibility and work the details. We had seven significant proposals on the table, and here is the winner.

The Final Result

Here is the winner from all the propositions. The inspiration came from the idea of festival dress-up. Wearing unusual clothes and eye-catching masks is a crucial element for a good festival. Festivals are a safe place for the public to expose their preferences no matter how different they can be. Masks aren’t used to hide one’s face but to reveal what’s hidden on the inside. Evoke characteristics we are hiding daily.

Building the character

This is the moment where the creative process meets our design methods and cohesion The creature has 3 eyes. The third eye often referred to higher consciousness. It’s linked to the evocation of mental images like most of Badinka’s patterns born thanks to the founders’ wild imagination.

The eyes’ shape is also special as it is similar to the one used to illustrate aliens. We wanted to point out once again the extraordinary character of the brand.

And finally – the horns. The shape of the horns had to be well-balanced with the rest of the elements. If you have big goat-like horns, it may look too linked to different cults, and that’s something we wanted to avoid. A more oval shape seemed like a better fit for the brand’s essence who often uses playful patterns and candy colors.

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Let us know what you think about this final result and how you organise your work. This is our creative process and how we design a logo for a brand.

If you need a creative hand for any project – you can count on our team.