Bag & Tag Design: Monroe
Sunglass Brand
Company Overview
Monroe is a sunglass brand which specializes in making retro style sunglasses. They specifically focus on making sunglasses inspired by the 50's, 60's, and 70's like cat eye, aviator, and round styles. They are based in Santa Monica, California and use this beach-y California vibe throughout their branding. Monroe sunglasses have a retro style with a modern vibe. These sunglass styles have been made popular over the years by famous musicians and actors sporting those specific styles. Marilyn Monroe was seen wearing the cat eye and aviator style sunglasses throughout her days in the spotlight. I used this as inspiration for the name of my sunglass brand. Marilyn's reputation and personality describes Monroe sunglasses as a brand. Beautiful and stylish. Monroe sunglasses are specifically branded for a younger generation in their 20's.
Logo Design & Meaning
I wanted Monroe's logo to incorporate either the eye, sunglasses or the sun. I was most satisfied with a thin double stroked eye. The flairs off the eye represent a cat eye and so do the pupil inside the eye. It's on a tilt just like an actual cat's eyes. I wanted the colors to be simple but with a couple hints of color. I chose a light greenish-blue to keep it airy and represent the sky. The stoke of the eye was specifically picked to match the stoke of the name of the brand. Monroe is typed in an all caps sans serif font called Muli Extra Light. Below the name is a short description of the brand. Between Monroe and the description is a thin blue line which matches the blue in the pupil of the eye. The description states "retro sunglasses with a modern vibe" in Palm Canyon Springs. Palm Canyon Springs is a font inspired by the 50's and 60's in California so it matches the brands identity perfectly.
Bag Design
I wanted Monoe's bag to have that California feel but still be simple so I decorated the front and back of the bag with black palm tree leaves around the edge on a blue background to match the pupil in the eye.The logo is placed in a white box framed by another blue box which matches the stoke and color of the line between the brand name and short description. Around the edge of the bag's front and back is another rectangle which is black but still matched the stroke of the box surrounding the logo. The left and right sides of the bag are identical to each other but feature a different design than the front and back of the back. They spotlight a pair of retro cat eye sunglasses in an un-stroked hand drawn style. The sunglasses describe to viewers the fact that Monroe specializes in making retro sunglasses like the cat eye style. The sunglasses are in the same black and blue from the front and back of the bag. The sunglasses are overlaid a black and white striped vertical pattern. The striped pattern was chosen to give the bag a more sleek and classy design.
Tag Design
The front of the Monroe sunglass tag has the same design as the front of the bag in order to create cohesion and the ability to identify the brand easily. On the back of the tag is the bar code, name of the specific style of sunglasses and some important information about the sunglasses.
Ad Description
The print ad created to represent the brand features a girl in the same demographic the brand targets. She sits on a cushion shaded by her Monroe sunglasses and an umbrella above her. Overlaid the picture is an orange tinted opacity layer to make the ad look more retro. The ad has the name of the brand at the top of the page in the same font as the bag and tag with it's same motto. At the bottom of the bag, under the model's hand is the logo and webpage address.
