branding guide_final

SS BRAND BOOK FALL 2015


FOREWORD

Fall 2015 marks the one-year anniversary of our online website as well as the opening of our first brick-and-mortar store in Hayes Valley, SF.

With these milestones under our belt, we’re only looking forward. As our brand becomes more established, we hope to cement our clean and classic aesthetic as part of our competitive edge.

Through the creation of this brand book and the curation of our visual identity, we will ensure our marketing materials remain consistent in their look and feel. Through this process, we hope to make our brand resonate more strongly with our consumers as we continue to pioneer the Urban Prep lifestyle we have come to be known for.

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CONTENTS

1 Foreword3 Introduction 4 Who are we? 5 Design Values6 Brand Identity 7 Urban Prep11 Our Customer 13 Lifestyle 16 Woman 17 Man20 Visual Identity 23 Logo 30 Typography 37 Color 40 Outro 42 Contact 43 Credits

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INTRODUCTION

SS BRAND BOOK INTRODUCTION

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WHO ARE WE?

Seldom seen is a boutique pioneering the Urban Prep lifestyle that bridges modern preppy with refined street for today’s style enthusiast.

Our branding is what distinguishes us from everyone else. Our clean and classic aesthetic embodies the Urban Prep lifestyle and sets us apart from our competition. Use these guidelines to ensure our brand stays consistent and unique.

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OUR DESIGN VALUES

CLASSIC

COOL

CLEAN


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BRAND IDENTITY

SS BRAND BOOK BRAND IDENTITY

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SS BRAND BOOK BRAND IDENTITY: URBAN PREP

URBAN PREP

This concept is the core of our business. We started Seldom Seen because we saw this new style emerging and wanted to bring two looks onto one platform. We saw an opportunity to create a space that embodies this lifestyle and champions discovery.

Now we’re here to share it.

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urban prep (noun) - a style influenced by contemporary music, art, and design that mixes understated classics and edgy street fashion

WHAT IS URBAN PREP?

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SS BRAND BOOK BRAND IDENTITY: URBAN PREP

Urban Prep is comprised of four subcategories:

rag & bonerand and statler

the hundredscarhartt work in progresstru undefeated

madewellwelcome strangerunion madetanner goodssteven allen

saturdaysny sunshine

1. refined brands

2. street brands

3. kinfolk/americana brands

4. surf brands

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WE ARE NOT

COLORFUL VINTAGE COACHELLA/

BOHEMIAN

HIPPIE HIGH

FASHION

SS BRAND BOOK BRAND IDENTITY

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OUR CUSTOMER

SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER

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SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER: LIFESTYLE

URBAN PREP: LIFESTYLE

The customer who embraces the Urban Prep lifestyle values quality and experience. He or she is an active pursuant of the

best life has to offer. Good coffee, art and architecture, traveling, tech products, and curated magazines are just a few of their

interests.

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SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER: LIFESTYLE

artisanal ice cream

refurbished wood and exposed brick

well-traveled

Apple and technology

stumptown coffee

champagne

well-read/magazines

artisanal cheese

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OUR CUSTOMERS

ARE

HumbleLikeable

AdventurousPassionate

Design orientedSelf-aware

FreeBalancedLeaders

InfluencersEntrepreneurs

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OUR CUSTOMER:CARRIE

Carrie is a 27-year-old creative, with an eye for minimalist design and simple color combinations. She’s educated and adventurous. She needs a flexible wardrobe that can easily transition from the needs of an outdoor lifestyle to that of the San Francisco nightlife. She’s a young working professional dedicated to her retail marketing career first, travel and social life second. She has an appreciation for art and design and spends her time with friends exploring the city, nature, and art.

SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER: WOMAN

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SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER: WOMAN

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SS BRAND BOOK

OUR CUSTOMER: MARC

OUR CUSTOMER: MAN

Marc is a 29-year-old man that makes $100,000 a year doing back-end development for a start up in San Francisco. He is passionate, adventure seeking, and hard working. He lives in Hayes Valley, where he takes pride in his active, urban life style. His minimal but fashionable style follows him wherever he goes. Marc is a die-hard Apple fan who appreciates art and curated interor design. Marc never misses a Sunday farmers market and he loves going to concerts. Black coffee is a must, and he never begins his day without a cup from Sightglass.

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SS BRAND BOOK OUR CUSTOMER: MAN

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VISUAL IDENTITY

SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY

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SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY

VISUAL IDENTITY

Consistency is key.

In order to maintain a consistent and successful brand presence, we have developed the following guidelines as a structure to following when designing marketing materials.

This guide does not attempt to set forth rules for every possible circumstance, but should be referenced as a starting point when considering our visual identity. Clean lines, white space, minimalism, and adequate spacing between design elements are our core preferences and should be maintained at all times.

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VISUAL IDENTITYSS BRAND BOOK

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LOGO

SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY: LOGO

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VISUAL IDENTITY: LOGO

The Seldom Seen preferred logo use for web and print is shown above. In some cases, the logo symbol and logo-

type can be used independently of each other.

SYMBOL

SIGNATURE

LOGO-TYPE

SS BRAND BOOK

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LOGO

The Seldom Seen logo is a core asset of the

Seldom Seen brand. The logo consists of a

branded logo circle with the signature and

‘seldom seen’ in a clean, sans serif font.

The preferred usage is the black version on a

white or very light background, or the white

version on a black or colored background.

Variations include black and white versions of

the logo and signature together and/or

independent of each other.

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Only use the text only logo if the circle logo is

included somewhere else on the page.

This is the most commonly used logo which can be used

for both print and text.

LOGO USAGE

Use the circle logo for branded content and instances in which the

logo is reduced to a size that makes ‘seldom seen’

difficult to read.

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The Seldom Seen logo may be enlarged or reduced as necessary. The primary requirements are readability and communicability. Use these guidelines to ensure our mark is used effectively.

Bigger is better.

A larger size of the logo, as long as there is adequate room for surrounding white space, is always preferable for maximum impact.

Use the stacked signature at a size no smaller than 1 inch high.

Use the symbol signature at a size no smaller than 1/2 inch high.

Use the logo-type signature at a size no smaller than 1/6 inch high.

SS BRAND BOOK

SIZE MATTERS

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The Seldom Seen logo is always

black on a white background.

If the logo is placed on a colored

background use the inverted version

of the logo.

SS BRAND BOOK

LOGO DO’S

Whe utilizing the Seldom Seen logo make sure to keep designs

clean and clutter-free.

Make sure to use the proper aspect ratio for the logo, follow

color guidelines, and maintain white space around the logo.

The following examples show proper uses of the Seldom

Seen logo as well as several incorrect uses.

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Never change the transparency

of the logo.

Never rotate, distort, stretch,

or skew the logo.

Avoid placing the logo on

backgrounds which are too

cluttered.

Never change the colors of

the logo. The logo should

always be white or black.

The ‘seldom seen’ text should

never altered or replaced with

nonstandard fonts.

Ensure there is plenty of white

space around the logo.

seldomseen

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consecte-

LOGO DON’TS

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TYPOGRAPHY

SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY: TYPOGRAPHY

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SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY: TYPOGRAPHY // PRINT

PRINT TYPOGRAPHY

Clean typography is essential to Seldom Seen’s design values. Our main typeface is Niveau Grotesque, used in four weights:

Extra Light, Light, Regular, and Medium. We will also occasionally use stylized or script-style fonts for social and specialty projects.

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NIVEAU GROTESQUE

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y za b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 , . : ; ‘ “ / | ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( )

Clean, modern, and versatile, this sans serif typeface is used in a number of forms throughout Seldom Seen’s print and web typography.

Tracking (letter spacing) should be set at 50.

Line height should also be slightly increased when using multiple lines of text (for example, 14pt font with 19pt line height).

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medium

regular

light

extra light Used primarily for body text and subheaders

Used primarily for body text and subheaders

Used for subheaders

Used for main headers

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SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY: TYPOGRAPHY // WEB

WEB TYPOGRAPHY

The web typography structure of our site has been set up by our developers to be used as a clear guide when we are designing.

Please use this guide as a reference.

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H1: NIVEAU GROTESQUE MEDIUM - ALL CAPS - 45px tracking: 50px

H3: niveau grotesque regularall lowercase - 29px - tracking: 50px

H2: NIVEAU GROTESQUE REGULARALL CAPS - 38px - tracking: 50px

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Body: Niveau Grotesque Extra Light - 15px - tracking: 50px

regular footer text/small font: niveau grotesque light - lowercase - 10px - tracking: 50px

Lead Body: Niveau Grotesque Light25px - tracking: 50px

H4: niveau grotesque regularall lowercase - 20px - tracking: 50px

H5: NIVEAU GROTESQUE MEDIUM - ALL CAPS - 14px - tracking: 50px

LINKS : H5 - underlined

H6: NIVEAU GROTESQUE MEDIUM - ALL CAPS - 10px - tracking: 50px

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COLOR

SS BRAND BOOK VISUAL IDENTITY: COLOR

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BLACK

#000000RGB 0, 0, 0

WHITE

#ffffffRGB 255, 255, 255

COLOR

Clean minimalism is essential to Seldom Seen’s design values, which is why the color palette has been pared down to black

and white. Keeping the color scheme to two simple but dynamic colors, Seldom Seen’s visual brand aligns with their

distinct urban prep style.

For print and web design, the graphic elements should be comprised primarily of black and white, especially for

business materials.

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ACCENT COLORS

Aside from the clean black and white color palette, Seldom Seen’s brand sometimes incorporates an accent color in their promotional materials. In these cases, there is

usually one bright, outstanding color or image used alongside a mostly

black and white color scheme to maintain a balance of clean

minimalism.

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OUTRO

SS BRAND BOOK OUTRO

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SS BRAND BOOK OUTRO

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SS BRAND BOOK OUTRO

CONTACT

Seldom Seen522 Octavia StSan Francisco, CA 94102

Websiteseldomseen.co

[email protected]

Natasha Wong, CEO and [email protected]

Daniel Lee, President and [email protected]

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SS BRAND BOOK CREDITS

This brand book was constructed by the Undergraduate Marketing Association at UC Berkeley in December 2015 through the Design Consulting team.

Design Consulting Directors: Kai Ridenoure and Nathan Ventura.

Team Members: Kloey Battista, Brian Choi, Cassidy Hsieh, Aisha Joshi, Noa Taieb, and Joe Wilson.

CONTACTumaucberkeley.com

Kai Ridenoure, Design Consulting [email protected]

Nathaniel Ventura, Design Consulting [email protected]

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CREDITS

branding guide_final

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