Crimson Dragon Publishing

Freelance | Branding | Graphic Designer | Web Designer

Brief

My longest client relationship is with a small family-owned independent book publishing company based in Aurora, CO that I have had the pleasure of meeting through connections while I was attending Kendall College of Art & Design. They felt that a visual overhaul of their brand and WordPress site was needed, as they were unsatisfied with their previous web designer. I needed to formulate the brand to be more mature, and present itself as more professional even as a small company currently focusing on children's books.

Mood Board

When putting together the Mood Board I wanted to focus on a pastel-red color scheme and look at how other logos using animals brand themselves. The idea of pastel soft colors and simplicity would help push towards that mature yet welcoming feeling.

Logo Exploration

The first step before touching the website and marketing material was redesigning the logo. The most important rule I had to follow while working on a redesign was to still incorporate the dragon in the logo with as little changes to it as possible as it was designed by a member of the family. I respected this decision and only offered anything that may be alternative as supplementary.

Original Design

The original logo had no vector file available and was only available in a low resolution file. I had to remake the dragon by hand and start from there. In this older design there appears to be a yellow full moon behind the dragon that serves no initial purpose and was dropped from all subsequent redesigns.

Concept #1

The first updated design introduces more curves to the wings up top, then to the middle and tip of the tail that gives the dragon a natural flow. This also incorporate a "C" into the dragon's tail.

A red vertical banner is now placed behind the dragon, however it is very plain and looks dangerously similar to the Marlboro™ red banner. Clearly not the first brand you would want to compare to a book publishing company.

Concept #2

The red vertical banner now has the angled tips cut off and a red border now surrounds the logo.
This iteration serves an an in-between design and plays around with elements that will be used in the final concept.

Final Concept

The vertical banner now exists as a red border line around the dragon, with a missing connection in the bottom right. This design choice was chosen to incorporate a "house top with chimney" as a nod to the company starting out as an independent publisher orchestrated in home and the comfiness one can associate with the idea of reading a good book inside your home.

Business Card Collateral

The cards follow a basic vertical design that lends its functionality as a bookmark as well, with a hole puncture and tied rope through it. It's a simple yet effective design choice that gives the card more versatility.

Web Design

The site is built in WordPress from the ground up, completely replacing all assets from the original site's design with a cohesive and pleasent color scheme, as opposed to the original's mismatched colors and poor visibility.