Audience and Brand: Xondra Brand Plan
New York-based indie pop act Xondra has a gift for storytelling and world-building. To bring Xondra’s world to life through visuals, I created a brand identity that fits her sound, aesthetic and personality with a fresh logo design and plan complete with mood boards, a color palette, font styles, and more.
In order to create a brand plan, I first thought about Xondra’s core identity and audience. I have known Xondra for years and watched her music journey since she was still in music school, so it was fairly simple to pin down what defines these areas. Xondra has always been a multi-genre act with pop, rock, and r&b influences. Her lyrics are unapologetic, introspective, and feminist. They often bring hard issues to light and feel almost diary-esque.
When considering her audience, I thought of the shows she has performed at, her social media following, and the types of publications that have written about her. Xondra is an up-and coming artist who has developed a solid sound over the past few years. I also spoke to Xondra and her band mates to get a better understanding of their perspective. I would categorize her as an indie artist, and her audience comprises of young women and people in the LGBTQ+ community as well as people of color who enjoy the genres and themes that Xondra explores in her music. I also thought of similar artists and how Xondra might compare to them as a brand.
Next, I dove into the actual brand design. In Graphic Design for Everyone, author Cath Caldwell identifies three elements that make up a brand: the verbal brand, visual brand, and brand emotion. These were great starting points for bringing Xondra’s work to life. The verbal brand consisted of Xondra’s name, background, values, personality, and tone. The visual brand includes her logo, graphics, color palette, and imagery. Her brand emotion is conveyed through mood boards.
I took inspiration from recent and past photoshoots from Xondra as well as the aesthetic she had in mind to create these brand boards. Xondra’s visuals are dreamy, romantic, and feminine but also bold and colorful. I used Pinterest to find photos that conveyed her image.
I consulted Xondra during the design process of her logo. She wanted something retro and feminine so I used a font called Batuphat Script that felt perfect. When discussing colors, pink was no question. Xondra’s aesthetic is very pink– from her hair to her studio. We also settled on shades of purple and red to compliment the pink. I designed the logo text as a pink and purple gradient and added flourishes of stars to tie in that dreamy effect.
Check out the full brand plan below!
