Wear a Smile
Character.com — "Everyone loves character clothing. Even big kids who should know better. Founded by parents, we get it. Kitting them out in the latest gear isn’t cheap. And if it’s the wrong one, cue the howls of outrage. Which is why we take care to source the styles they want to be seen in, at a price that won’t break the bank."
I proudly joined Character.com as a freelance designer in the third quarter of 2024. In this role, I created a range of fun and impactful marketing materials for the Character.com brand, tailored for print and digital commercial use. I focused on creating assets such as UX icons, landlord flyers, brand toolkits and store signage, ensuring they align perfectly with Character.com’s brand guidelines for a consistent and professional presentation.
Character Brand Toolkits - Autumn 2024
One of my first tasks was to create an autumn asset pack for the Character.com brand toolkits. These toolkits require at least six theme-specific colors and 5 to 7 individual design assets, along with an example of how to use them.
All brand toolkits use Faro Display Lucky as the primary typeface to ensure brand consistency. Its playful and quirky letterforms convey joy with every word. General Sans serves as the functional typeface, offering modern, friendly, and easy-to-read letterforms.
For this asset pack, I focused on autumn colors and iconography, integrating them with Character's typography and imagery. The resulting marketing material promotes autumn deals and discounts on their website and can also be used in print settings.
Character Brand Toolkits - Halloween 2024
The Halloween asset pack builds on the previous one and adds a fun twist with a seventh colour—green! This change ties in with the exciting cinematic releases of "Wicked" and "Beetlejuice." I aimed to use playful Halloween icons like ghosts, bats, and vibrant purple tones to create a spooky yet enjoyable atmosphere. It's all about capturing that fun Halloween spirit!
Character Brand Toolkits - Sonic 2024
Gotta go fast! This asset pack deviates from the conventions of previous packs by incorporating a range of visual themes and colours inspired by the 8-bit pixel levels and characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog video games. I focused on capturing the essence of the game, including its fast-paced gameplay and diverse levels, which influenced the asset pack's fun and quirky 8-bit visual style. This brand toolkit promotes a lineup of Sonic-branded clothing and aligns with the cinematic release of the "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" movie.
Character UX Icons
I was assigned to create UX icons for the Character.com e-commerce website. The design of these icons incorporates key brand elements, including the use of Character Orange and Black colours, Faro Sans for the text, and the implementation of the Character smile while maintaining appropriate spacing with other visual elements. Additionally, some icons are rotated at a 6-degree angle to enhance their friendly and expressive appearance.
Store Requirements Flyer
I created a flyer for prospective retail unit landlords using the Character.com brand assets. The flyer should effectively communicate Character.com's requirements for new retail locations and align with their entry into the physical retail sector. To effectively represent the brand's essence professionally, it features logos, graphic elements, retail store imagery, and typography that align with Character.com's branding.
