Design & Branding

Vellum Studio Brand Identity

A boutique editorial photography and creative direction studio — serving fashion labels, hospitality brands, and luxury consumer products — engaged us to build a brand identity that matched the caliber of their creative output. The founder had built a strong body of work over years of client engagements but had never formalized the visual language of the studio itself. We were brought in to change that, building the full identity from the ground up.

Brand IdentityLogo DesignEditorialPhotographyLuxury
Project name is a pseudonym. Client details are withheld in accordance with a confidentiality agreement.

Logo Mark System

VELLUM

STUDIO

Dark Version

VELLUM

STUDIO

Light Version

VELLUM

STUDIO

Copper Version

Brand Color Palette

Charcoal

#0A0A0A

Ink

#1A1612

Copper

#B87333

Vellum

#F5F0E8

Burnish

#8B5E2A

The palette is rooted in a material metaphor: Charcoal and Ink anchor the identity with editorial gravity, Vellum brings warmth and the translucent quality of the studio's namesake material, and Copper functions as the sole chromatic accent — warm, precious, and used sparingly throughout all applications.

Typography System

Display — Editorial Serif

Canela

Headlines · Portfolio titles · Brand moments · Campaign copy

Body — Swiss Grotesque

SUISSE INTL

Body copy · Navigation · Captions · Proposal documents

Brand Voice

“Where light becomes language.”

Studio tagline

42-Page Brand Standards Guide — Contents

01Brand Narrative & Studio Philosophy
02Logo System & Clear Space Rules
03Color Palette & Material Rationale
04Typography & Editorial Pairing
05Photography Art Direction Guidelines
06Collateral & Application Templates

Collateral Applications Delivered

Business Cards

Dark + light versions

Portfolio Book

Cover + interior layout

Proposal Template

Branded document

Social Templates

8 post formats

Stationery Suite

Letterhead + envelope

Email Signature

HTML formatted

Gallery Tags

Print-ready

Brand Guide

42-page PDF

The Challenge

The photography and creative direction space is visually noisy — every studio claims editorial sophistication, but most brands look identical. The client needed an identity that communicated restraint, precision, and genuine editorial sensibility without falling into the trap of generic minimalism. The studio name offered a creative anchor: vellum as material — translucent, tactile, refined — had to inform every visual decision.

The Solution

We built the identity around a deliberate material metaphor. The logo mark is a refined open V with a copper accent at the base — referencing both the letterform and the quality of light that defines great photography. The color system pairs deep charcoal and warm ivory against a single copper accent, creating a palette that feels rich without competing with the photography it frames. Typography pairs an editorial serif display face with a Swiss grotesque body font — a combination that feels at home in a luxury editorial spread or a gallery invitation.

Results & Outcomes

42
Page brand standards guide
3
Logo mark variations for all surfaces
5
Color tones with material rationale
100%
Launch-ready on delivery

What We Delivered

  • Brand discovery and studio positioning framework
  • Primary logo mark, wordmark, and icon-only variations
  • Dark, light, and copper application versions
  • 5-tone color system with material rationale
  • Typography hierarchy with licensed font pairing
  • Business card and stationery suite
  • Portfolio book cover and proposal template
  • Social media and editorial caption templates
  • 42-page brand standards guide

Our Approach

The strongest brand identities are built from a material truth — something specific and real about the brand that can anchor every visual decision. Here, the anchor was the name itself. Vellum as material: translucent, tactile, precious, refined. We asked ourselves what a brand would look like if it was made of that material, then built the entire visual system — mark, palette, typography, collateral — as the answer to that question.

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