The Stiletto Cowgirl Poster (2022)

Project role:

Graphic Designer (Individual class project)

  • Created all project deliverables: designed the layout; created logo graphics; sourced and edited raster images; sourced and applied typefaces/fonts and colour schemes

Program used:

Adobe Photoshop

Key skills demonstrated:

Strategic creation and use of colour, typography, imagery, and layout  |  Brand identity |  Creative thinking  |  Visual problem-solving  |  Visual communication

During my Colour Theory class (MDIA 1140) at BCIT, us students were paired off to become each other's pseudo-clients for a poster design project. So I worked with a fellow student who gave me a client brief for the fictitious fashion brand named 'The Stiletto Cowgirl' that they came up with. From there I was able to work on a poster design the client might like and in accordance to their marketing goal for it, bearing in mind the visual hierarchy they also prefer to achieve in order to attract their target audience.

Design Brief

About the Company

  • Company Name: The Stiletto Cowgirl
  • Tagline: Ranch meets runway
  • Service(s) or products: Clothing and accessories (i.e., jeans, footwear, dresses, shirts, hats, belts, belt buckles, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, purses, phone cases, etc.)
  • Mood: Western with glamour and edgy flair to it

Target Market/Audience

  • Age: 20’s / early 30’s
  • Gender: Modern female
  • Price Range: Higher-end yet still affordable
  • Demographic: Urban. Cowgirl in city
  • Market: Socializing scene; nightclubs

Project Goals & Objectives

  • To create a poster advertising the boutique store opening in various locations of this fictitious brand

Key Project Deliverables

  • Company logo
  • Poster for upcoming boutique launches (8”x10”, vertical)
  • Other design concepts – store sign, shopping bags

 

Thumbnail and Rough

 

Basic word mark thumbnail for the logo

A rough logo design in its early stages where a stiletto boot graphic was added to add interest and a unique touch to the logo

 

Final Logo Design

 

As per client's preference, the characters of the word mark were made taller and thinner to mimic that of a stiletto heel. A version on the right side contains the brand's tagline and brief product description.

Design Elements

 

The final design features a graphic of black cowboy boots silhouette with tassels, stiletto heels, and a leather floral design commonly found in horse saddles.

 

Typography

 

  • A display type family
  • Developed by Christian Thalmann, this type family comprises a total of 45 font files spanning 9 different visual styles (Roman, Italic, Infant, Infant Italic, Garamond, Garamond Italic, Upright Cursive, Small Caps, and Unicase) and 5 weights (Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold, and Bold).

 

Colours

 

Monochromatic colour scheme
  • Tints and tones of orange
  • For a calm and trendy look

 

Poster

 

Final Poster Design

 

Taking into account the lessons I've learned from my 'Colour Theory Class' at BCIT, as well as my client's preferences, I was able to achieve this final design. Further explanation of the idea behind my work would be found under the 'Design Rationale' section of this page.

 

 

Design Elements

Typography

1) Cormorant Garamond
  • A display type family
  • Aside from the logo, I also used this for the rest of the poster design for brand consistency

 

2) Poppins
  • A geometric sans serif typeface; each letterform is nearly monolinear
  • The project was developed by Indian Type Foundry (ITF), with support for both the Devanagari and Latin writing systems
  • I mainly used it for the poster's footer information

Colours

 

Split Complementary colour scheme
  • Dark blue, tint of red (pink), and yellow-orange
  • For a retro trendy look

 

Mockups

 

These are mockup renditions of the final poster design, depicting how it would look like on different street scenarios out in the real world.

 

 

Other Design Concepts

 

Here are some additional designs I created for the brand, which are beyond what is required for the class project and are conceptualized after finishing the 'Colour Theory for Design' course.

Store front sign

Store front sign (zoomed in)

Shopping bags

Design Rationale

1) Why the main colours, ie. target audience preferences/demographics, appropriateness to the nature of the product/service you are designing for? 

  • My client specifically asked for an ‘Arizona desert sunrise’ colour scheme, hence the use of pink, orange, and brown hues . Furthermore, she wanted something that revolves around the themes of ‘Urban cowgirl in city’/’Hot pink meets horses’/’Traditional Western with Modern Flair’.
  • Target audience preferences/demographics/appropriateness to the nature of the product or service: Adult female in their 20s and up, who are into higher-end, but still affordable, Western glamour for the socializing scene/night clubs. The client also wanted the main boutique to be located in Las Vegas.
  • Thus the hot pink colour on the image is to appeal for adult females in their 20s and up; Bright orange is also used to signify affordability despite the higher-end quality of the products. Hint of black on the logo (high-heeled boots) for a modern and elevated touch. The browns correspond to the Western/cowgirl theme; The dark blue background with some round lights/orbs depict nightlife in a socializing scene.

 

2) The 6 levels of Frank Mahnke’s human response to colour

A.  Biological Reactions to a Colour Stimulus 
    • The hot pink colour (tint of red) on the main image is very eye-catching, thus effective in its usage for the main focal point.
B. Collective Unconscious
    • The dark blue background would naturally correspond to a night time look and feel.
C. Conscious Symbolism – Associations
    • Western/Cowboy/Cowgirl culture is usually associated with brown colours
D. Cultural Influences and Mannerisms
    • Pink usually symbolizes femininity in most countries and cultures
E. Influence of Trends, Fashion, Styles
    • The use of a hint of black in the Company name/logo means sophistication and also serves as a modern element
F. Personal Relationship
    • The client was pleased about the colours used as it reminds her of a desert sky which she personally likes

 

3) What is the focal point?

As per client’s request, the main focal point is the image (the lady in pink), followed by the company name/logo

 

4) Type(s) of Contrast used to portray the focal point

Contrast of Warm vs Cool colours; Contrast of Value; Contrast of Saturation; Contrast of size

 

5) What type of Harmony/Balance used?

Asymmetrical Balance (but with symmetrical text info); Familiarity (Lady wearing a hot pink cowboy hat); Order (Analogous colours - Pink, Orange, Brown)

Reflection

 

This class project served as an invaluable exercise for students in preparation for when we have to deal with actual clients in the future. It not only involved the usual design work process, but also the aspect of communicating with the client. I had to constantly go back and forth with them to make sure I'm on the right track in creating a design they envision to have to meet their brand promotion needs.

As this was done during a 'Colour Theory for Design' course, it was such a joy to apply the concepts and principles I learned about proper colour application for graphic design work, as well as visual composition and layout. It was also my very first time designing a logo from scratch. Overall, I was pleased that my client was very happy about how the design turned out to be, and that I got good marks for this project too.

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