Brand Design for Wildwood Imagery

Such a fun brand reveal to share with you, and the earthy, autumn colors make me want to run out and grab a pumpkin spice latte!

If you've been around here a while, you may have noticed that my style tends to be pretty crisp and clean. But for this client, we got a little rough and rugged and couldn't be happier with the result. Pull on your jeans and boots, y'all, and giddyup!

At her core, Chantelle Bowman is a storyteller who captures the most gorgeous images of the Western Canadian lifestyle. Growing up on her family's beef farm in Saskatchewan (yes, if you're not familiar with Canada, that's a real place!) and pursuing her education in photography have given her both the calm confidence and in-depth knowledge that make her a sought-after photographer. Her clients love her uncanny ability to put everyone—human and livestock—at ease and show the natural beauty of the life they love.

Because we're both based in Southern Alberta, Chantelle and I were able to meet in person for our kickoff session, which was a welcome connection during these COVID restrictions. You'll enjoy getting to know her business, Wildwood Imagery, and her down-to-earth yet utterly-professional style.

1 | Brand Strategy

Given the seemingly effortless way Chantelle captures the stories of Western life, we chose the brand keywords determined, welcoming, and narrative. We wanted to show the hard-working side of her and her audience, but we also needed it to be professional—what we call "rustic elegance."

We expanded her existing color palette of brown and tan to retain some continuity with her previous branding and give her more flexibility as she grows. Pulling colors from her own images, we warmed up her previous chocolatey brown into a more earthy brown that's grounded and dependable, complemented it with rust for warmth and abundance, and topped it off with a range of blues that speak of trust and integrity and echo the ever-present scenery and denim in her photos. It was really fun to create an inspiration board almost entirely of Chantelle's images!

Moodboard images: branded hide | wheat | all other photos ©Wildwood Imagery, Chantelle Bowman

2 | Logo Design

Chantelle loves the diversity of her work, whether she's behind the chutes at the Canadian Finals Rodeo or meandering through a family farm, and I wanted to create a logo that didn't pigeon-hole her into one category. Her previous logo used a wheat icon which, although it is quintessentially Western Canadian, it didn't leave room to showcase everything else she does—events, rodeo, portraits, and livestock.

I intentionally kept the logo a bit abstract, but the loops, swirls, and textures evoke ideas of rodeo lassos and barbed wire, perfect for representing the activity of the arena and the prairies.

3 | Brand Board

When we started her rebrand, Chantelle was already in the process of rebuilding and updating her website on a platform that looked and functioned better. We kept most of her new website fonts so she could get everything up and running easier. Pulling in some rough, textured patterns is something she always wanted to do but couldn't figure out how to make them work. Now she has a whole set of tools to mix and match.

4 | Collateral & Social Media

Because Chantelle was already using Adobe Photoshop, I built her final files in other Adobe software so she can easily create new files as needed. I love being able to build for clients in software that has so many more options for easy tweaks and customization without the limitations of Canva. It's a bit more labor intensive, but oh so worth it.

We redesigned her letterhead, pricing sheets, and business cards along with new social media templates for upcoming events. After rodeo season winds down at the end of September and all her galleries are uploaded, she's looking forward to updating the rest of her marketing materials and building even more brand consistency. Having a detailed Brand Style Guide, tutorial videos, and organized assets will make this process more streamlined for her.

Chantelle's rebrand is a beautiful example of my Signature Brand Package which has allowed her to totally uplevel her brand.