Turner and Thread
John and Kath are a married couple who have combined their passions for woodworking and sewing to establish the brand Turner and Thread. John is a skilled woodturner who specialises in creating exquisite wooden pieces and Kath is a creative seamstress known for her beautiful handcrafted accessories. As their brand was just a concept when they reached out to me, the client’s request was to help create a name that captured their combined professions, hence ‘Turner and Thread’, and to develop the branding from that point.
I began the brand design process by closely examining images of the client’s beautifully crafted products. From the sleek simplicity of the woodworks to the intricate detailing of the sewed pieces, it was clear their work embodied both form and function. I curated a moodboard of various product photographs to analyse the textures, shapes and colour palettes that represented the client’s identity, as well as the tools which are used to create these products. This visual research provided key insights that guided the aesthetic direction of the branding.
When it came to creating the logo, I noticed that the brand name had six letters in the two main words, allowing me to create a symmetrically aesthetic logo. I extended the ends of the ‘and’ to make it appear like thread, weaving around the name to represent the two different craftsmanships combining, and the needle attached at the end of the thread feeds through the ‘D’, reflecting the leg of the ‘R’ above and therefore creating visual balance. I also created a simplified alternative without thread to serve as a secondary logo, solely for the wooden pieces.
When developing the visual branding, I put a lot of thought into choosing the right primary colour. I knew I wanted a natural, earthy tone that would convey a sense of warmth and authenticity. After considering various options, I settled on a rich brown - one that was deeper and slightly more saturated than an actual wooden material. To provide more creative flexibility, I designed multiple versions of the primary logo featuring different coloured thread, so Kath could mix and match the branding to pair with the aesthetic of her sewed items.
The client was eager to begin expanding their brand presence and connecting with potential customers through social media engagement, particularly on Facebook. In today’s digital age, an active social media presence provides invaluable visibility, interaction and promotion for brands and businesses. Facebook specifically offers an ideal platform with its massive user base and versatile features, so to help the clients visualise this social media growth opportunity, I created a mockup design of what their Facebook page could potentially look like.
“We contacted KR Designs for assistance with developing a new company name, logos and branding. We weren't really sure about a direction, but Kate talked us through what she could do and asked the right questions to focus our thoughts. The communication was excellent from the outset with regular updates and emails showing the progress. At each point it was very easy to discuss any alterations required and these were always actioned quickly. Kate always had more creative ideas and so all we had to do was choose.
Kate provided suggestions for company names, styles and colours, as well as themes. We especially love the way in which she took different elements of our venture and brought these together with clever use of fonts and graphics. Not only are we blown away by the results, but the process of reaching this point was effortless thanks to Kate’s diligence. Although we had not met beforehand, Kate easily identified what was important to us and our priorities and somehow captured all of these in her ideas. We are now really excited to be moving forward with our new designs which look fresh and professional.” ~ John & Kath Austin-Bailey | Turner and Thread