Case study, 2019 – 2020

Retail brand and marketing design

My Role

As Brand Design Manager, I was responsible for leading all of the retail marketing brand design efforts while I was with the MVP International Group in Charleston, South Carolina. This was while the organization was undergoing a brand refresh from MVP to Ascense.

My other responsibilities included managing the brand usage for all national product accounts as well as MVP/Ascense owned products. This also included advertising design, trade show exhibit design, product and packaging design, art directing photo shoots—all while working in tandem with the Digital Brand Design Manager.

*MVP/Ascense is a premiere home decor and candle company located in Charleston, South Carolina.* *Their* *brand base includes Carolina Candle Company, TJ Maxx, Target, Hallmark, Gaiam, Febreze, and many others.*
*Above is an early stage photoshoot I had art directed for a color and light study.*

National brand product design and management

My prime directive with Ascense/MVP International Group was to promote and standardize the national brands for products that were exclusives within certain retail markets such as Hallmark, Gaiam, TJ Maxx, Target, Febreze, and others.

Below each product, you can see the graphic standards I created so other staff designers would be able to use the correct guidelines for package and product design, or advertisements as necessary.

See the Hallmark brand standards

See the Gaiam Brand Standards

See the Febreze brand standards

Creating brand designs for MVP/Ascense in-house accounts

These are two of the many product lines I created for the Carolina Candles brand. Shown here are the Islands Collection and the Tea Collection.

My goal for the Islands Collection was to have the visual elements tie in with the wax colors, which the fragrences already did. The same goes with the Tea Collection except I wanted the actual tea colors to appear as they would in real life while harmonizing with the colors and patterns I had chosen for each product.

Art directing photo shoots

My goal for displaying candles was to capture the viewer’s senses outside of the visual aesthetic. The audience has be allured by the product and has to imagine its fragrance by it’s surroundings. The setting has to be relatable and convincing for all audiences.

Mood boards

Unlike the beauty shots of the products themselves, I used mood boards to communicate to potential retailers and e-commerce partners to visualize what a product was all about by associating them with elements of trend, color, and lifestyle.

Trade show and exhibit design

I created two significant trade show exhibits in 2019 to be used in 2020 for shows in England (Birmingham) and Germany (Ambiente). I did the research of trending displays and exhibits, lighting, product displays, and implemented special “open rooms” designed so that the decor of each room reflected the essence of the products within it (as shown with the photos here).

The idea was to create exhibits that could be easily constructed and used in multiple locations. At the end of a particular exhibition, everything could be packed up and transported to the next exhibit location in order to recycle and repurpose everything at the next show.

I developed all of the design and architectural renderings for the production teams to be used domestically as well as overseas. All measurements were displayed in U.S. units as well as Metric for construct, prop purchases, or anything else necessary for build-out, keeping international standards under consideration.

Both exhibits are accessible by clicking on the buttons in this section.

See Birmingham

See Ambiente

The existing brand identity for MVP Group International

When I joined on with MVP, the existing identity was considered outdated and without much of any visual appeal. MVP had made the decision to refresh its identity and as the new Brand Design Manager, I was asked to contribute with the brand identity refresh. The decision for a brand refresh was a wise call and much needed.

However, at that time, MVP found itself in financial distress and the refresh was put on hold. It also let go over 50% of its staff. The outcome of the brand refresh is yet undetermined.

Implementing the new Ascense brand and identity Design

All of the staff designers on were encouraged to participate in the creation of the new identity and several were submitted for presentation. Of the three top design contenders, I had two that were tied as “first choices.” When the design process went through their Legal Department, the trademark was approved, the design was finalized, and I was able to create their brand style guide.

Stationery applications

The two top contenders for the new Ascense brand identity design

Both of these concepts were mine. Option A won from the nearly a dozen designs submitted to the Executive Management Team.