CHERIE OKONSKI

Brand Messaging
Copywriting
Brand Identity Design
Personal Brand Logo
& Expanded Brand Family for Gumper The Rabbit Character
Typography & Colors
Brand guidelines
Personal Brand Styling
Wearable Brand Touchpoints
Art Direction & Staging
Personal Brand Photos
Media Kit
Presentation Slide Deck
Lux Business Cards
Tradeshow Booth Elements
Social Media Styles
Bespoke Art Elements

When this project began, Cherie had already published her first 2 'Gumper the Rabbit' books, and was looking for a personal brand design to better introduce her as an author, as well as improved branding & styles for to help promote her books & Gumper the Rabbit children's character.

Cherie's bubbly and artistic approach to her life and legacy quickly shined through, and resulted in a playful personal brand that brought out my inner child from start to finish!

The main challenge on this project? To make sure that Cherie's personal brand complemented the childlike innocence of her Gumper the Rabbit book series, while still capturing her as the bold and creative business owner that she is. I dug deep, dusted off my childhood love of doodling, and went to town! Scroll down to enjoy a glimpse of a few of brand assets that were delivered with love.

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BRAND MESSAGING

During our early Content Mining™ sessions, we learned that this personal brand would highlight Cherie's expertise as an children's author and artist, and help her to enhance visibility for her Gumper the Rabbit series.

As a mother and an artist, Cherie believes that when creativity is nourished in a child, it becomes a foundational building block that carries them successfully through adulthood, which is why each hand-illustrated story that she produces is not just a work of art, but also a work of heart. Her mission is to provide parents with peace of mind today and create kids with compassionate hearts tomorrow.

Which is why she invites kids and their parents to HOP INTO FUN WITH GUMPER THE RABBIT - A CHILDREN'S SERIES WHERE ART MEETS HEART, DIFFERENCES ARE A GIFT, AND KINDNESS IS COOL!

creating works of art & heart

MAIN LOGOMARK

When Cherie came to us, she had already written 2 books, and trademarked her heart + nose icon (which is the nose of her character Gumper the Rabbit.) So my challenge was to work in that same hand drawn heart (and hand drawn feel of her illustrations) into a simple logo for Gumper, and then expand it again into a more adult but still artistic look with a logo for Cherie's personal brand as an author. I loved finding the duality between children's author and professional... Slightly messy but intentional. Artistic and authentic.

HORIZONTAL + ALTERNATE COLORS

SPECIAL VERSION FOR SIGNATURES
+ ALTERNATE TAGLINE

GUMPER THE RABBIT LOGO

THE ORIGINAL ICON MARK

BUSINESS CARD DESIGN

And since a brand is only as impactful as WHERE and HOW you use it, we enjoyed bringing the messy artistic factor to life by layering it into a variety of touchpoints, like these thick and luxuriously soft cotton business cards that feel just like touching your favorite old sketchbook.

A few intentional overdraw lines in the logo and around the edges add to the artistic mindset of embracing the mess.

PERSONAL BRAND STYLING

For Cherie's personal brand photo shoot, we wanted to style her in a way that was distinctly related to her identity as an artist, creating a recognizable look and feel of how she would choose to show up in the world..

WE FOCUSED ON FINDING THE DUALITY BETWEEN HER AS A PLAYFUL, APPROACHABLE CHILDREN'S AUTHOR & ARTIST, BUT WITHOUT LOSING THE PROFESSIONALISM AND INTEGRITY THAT SHE SHOWS WHEN IT COMES TO REACHING THE PARENTS AND EDUCATORS AS WELL.

Because her company brand colors are so distinctive, we chose to let those flow into her personal brand style as well, creating a look that is colorful and bold, but still polished. She embodies joy, and confidently exudes a vibe of being artistic and fun, while maintaining timeless depth, integrity and a message.

BRAND PHOTO SHOOT

At Design by Jo, we believe that your personal brand should live at the intersection of who you want to be perceived as in relation to your business, and the authentic self that you are when the cameras stop rolling.

Personal branding can do so much for helping your ideal client connect with you via your online touchpoints! People like to work with real live PEOPLE who get them.

When it comes to helping our clients become known and loved for their highest value through a personal brand, we are an advocate for their most audacious life, their most authentic self, and their most abundant potential!

YEP! THAT'S ME INSIDE!

The photos created for Cherie & Gumper needed to feel vibrant and alive, with emphasis imagination, playfulness and creativity. We carefully chose her settings and the staging items that would show up in the background of her photos for these exact reasons!

It’s no secret that when it comes to making sure that we get every shot we need in a client photo shoot, I’m not just the art director. On photo shoot day I’m the stuff carrier, the reflector holder, the joke factory, and the makeup touch up team….up for anything that will help us get the shot. But this was my first time putting on a kids character costume and hopping around!

If this branding thing doesn’t work out, maybe I can go be a mascot?

BRAND PHOTO SHOOT DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH LYDIA WOOSLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

BEHIND THE SCENES

Is it possible to have too much fun on photo shoot day? I don't think so! We have so much fun behind the scenes, and do our best to create an environment that feels like you just spent the day laughing with your best friends. In fact, our clients report that their initial nerves at being in front of the camera fade quickly, and they leave the day feeling confident, unstoppable, and on top of the world!

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BEFORE & AFTER

In case you still don't believe me on how much difference this makes, and how totally worth the effort it is, check out a little snapshot of Cherie before and after!

Thanks to her bravery and readiness to show up for herself and trust the process, she willingly followed my suggestions for a new haircut and color, makeup, wardrobe, and shoot location. Not only did she dazzle for shoot day, but thanks to the new hairstyle that flatters her face and skin tone, a wardrobe that brings out her unique glow, she seems to have aged backwards along the way.

AFTER

BEFORE

CUSTOM ART ELEMENTS

Cherie's illustrations were created to spark the imagination of children, so it only made sense to pull characters out of her books and into the real world!

With some careful planning ahead of the photo shoot, we were able to capture her in a series of silly poses that I was then able to merge with some of her sketched characters. Then it was time to get back to my childhood love of doodling and craft some playful scribbles of my own to bring a few more of her photos to life!

BRAND GUIDELINES

As with any brand, consistency is key when it comes to building a loyal base of raving fan customers! Because of this, we set our clients up for success with an easy to follow, custom brand guideline, that they can share with their in-house design group, or any external designer who works on their future brand collateral.

BRAND IMPLEMENTATION

Once they have their amazing new brand assets in hand, and the website is launched, what comes next?

MEDIA KIT

PRESENTATION DECKS

Our clients believe in always finding a way to add more value to their audience. We believe that excellence across ALL touchpoints equals brand experiences that matter. And when these two values align, you get beautifully on brand touchpoints that highlight the content you are providing, and make the learning experience enjoyable for your audience.