WILLOW & IVY PRESS
Willow & Ivy Press is a greeting card line aimed specifically at millennial women and was created by it's parent company Leanin' Tree to be something new and different from the voice, style and design of Leanin' Tree, as well as to target an entirely new and untapped audience.
In tandem with my role as a designer at Leanin' Tree, I was asked to be Creative Director as well a co-face of the brand before and during the launch. My role as Creative Director was something new, but it was an incredible learning experience to launch a brand and new company from scratch.
BRANDING & IDENTITY CREATION
I was brought on in the beginning in stages of the line, but they were working with an already established brand identity. It was paramount that this brand be wholly new and different from it's parent brand and I did not think that the working identity was doing that. Although it was a risk, I proposed a new brand identity that was fresh and modern, on-trend but something that would remain timeless and also better connect with the target audience.
FINAL BRAND
I was responsible creating and overseeing the usage of the entire brand. From the logo and accompanying type choices, to the color palette and guidelines for card design. I created guidelines for my co-designers for social media, stationery design, typography and color usage.
SOCIAL MEDIA COLLATERAL
A large part of my role was to create and oversee the social media for Willow & Ivy in conjunction with the marketing team. We were on a rigorous schedule of posting several times a week, and were tasked with creating a cohesive voice for the brand, despite the diversity of artistic styles and tones of the cards themselves.
I also created a series of reels, using stop-motion animation in Adobe Express for use on the Willow & Ivy Press Instagram. Similarly to the still images, the marketing department would provide a loose prompt and the card selection and I would create the reels around a particular theme or card.
CATALOG DESIGN
Willow & Ivy required an entirely different approach to catalog design than it's parent company. I designed a catalog design system that was unique and really let the cards themselves shine. The branding is consistent but not to overt, and the styled elements are bold but showcase the cards nicely.
Early into creating the line, we did not have physical samples of the cards themselves, nor did we have the budget for high-end photography. As such, I relied upon the use of Adobe Firefly to create sophisticated editorial shots.
AD CREATION
Willow & Ivy was featured in several industry publications such as Stationery Trends and GiftBeat magazine. I created styled ads for these publications in conjunction with the marketing department to make an impact amongst the tight knit group of greeting card industry peers.
EDITORIAL STYLING
As well as ad creation, Stationery Trends relies on styled shots from creators for their quarterly issues. I would received the card selects as well as a loose theme, and be tasked with creating shots using Adobe Firefly for submission into the magazine.
WEBSITE DESIGN
Willow & Ivy Press consumer website launched on June 3rd, 2024. I worked with Shopify developer extremely closely up until launch. I created the overall design and layout of the website, implementing the Willow & Ivy color palette throughout. I created all of the styled shots as well, a combination of traditional photography and backgrounds created using Adobe Firefly.
TRADESHOW BOOTH DESIGN
Something I was previously unfamiliar with, but truly enjoyed was creating a core design for the Willow & Ivy tradeshow booth. In the first instance, Willow & Ivy's debut at the Noted Tradeshow in San Francisco in 2024, I also was tasked with installation.
With the Willow & Ivy branding at it's core, the booth design needed to accommodate a very large initial line of cards of 158. I designed, created and installed the shelving system that we used, and installed the vinyl portions of the design.
After a little trial and error, (that you can see a bit of in the reel above) the booth was an incredible success, and garnered a ton of compliments from leaders in the industry and tradeshow attendees.
PERMANENT INSTALLATION
My original design was then used for the permanent display booth located in Las Vegas. The design was easily pared down to accommodate a smaller space, and the original shelving was replaced with acrylic.
SALES COLLATERAL
Before and after the launch of WIllow & Ivy, there was a need for various sales collateral introducing the brand as well as creating co-branding pieces with national brand partners such as Nothing Bundt Cakes.
VIDEO CONTENT FOR TELEVISION
Working with a public relations firm, Willow & Ivy was featured on several regional news stations. I created a short visual companion video for a featured that highlighted our Halloween cards in October of 2024.
PRODUCT EXPANSION IDEATION
In Fall of 2024 I was tasked with creating mockups of potential gift product expansion. Using elements of cards, I created a cohesive gift line across a variety of different products. The line will feature contemporary soft goods, drinkware and paper goods and feature art from the card line.
