THE BRANDING JOURNEY – FEATURING MALARKEY CAKES

Hello there! So as I’m sure you’ve seen if you follow my blog or stay update with what’s going on over on my Insta, it’s been a pretty busy start to 2018 here at Branding by Nicki. I’ve met and collaborated with some absolutely amazing, inspirational female entrepreneurs who are out there making it happen. And long may that continue. There’s a lot in the pipeline (so stay tuned for all of that) but today I wanted to chat to you about one business in particular – Malarkey Cakes, and the brand journey we went on together, from start to launch, or re-launch in her case.

I always take the time to get to know my clients, I love hearing everyone’s ideas and the story behind their business – it’s one of the most exciting parts for me. I also like to understand everything about their business, and in particular their ideal client. From who they are, to what they like, it’s so important to get this part right, but once you have it the process can be so much fun. And it’s safe to say that was the case here!

WHO ARE MALARKEY CAKES?

Well, I know that’s the question on your lips, so let me give you a bit of background. One of the first things you see when you arrive at her website is ‘THERE’S NO PARTY WITHOUT A CAKE…’ which sums this crazy, cool business up perfectly.

Founder Katie prides herself on creating unique and unusual cakes for special celebrations.

Specializing in bespoke cakes for city and urban weddings, they are based in London and always give their centrepieces a fun, modern twist. Katie takes inspiration from the world around her, whether that’s art, design, or nature and combines it with her client’s personality to create something really special and unique.

Her clients are always after something completely bespoke to them, with a Malarkey twist of course. All of this is right up our street here at Branding by Nicki so, we just HAD to work with her to create that fresh new look to help her relaunch in style.

THE JOURNEY

It was so important for us to reflect the personality and style of the cakes in Katie’s new branding so this branding journey was super fun from start to finish.

As always, we started with a mood board, which is a great way to grasp and visualize the vibe of the brand – for us, and for the client too. It’s the foundation from which all the visual elements can build, so those strong visual reference points play a key role in bringing the brand to life.

Malarkey Cakes is a very feminine brand, with a vibrant, fun girly side and we quickly identified it as having more of a spring personality – so bright, stand-out colours were a must. You can tell this from the moment you meet Katie and she starts to speak about her brand. Her passion is infectious, which is clear from her stunning cake designs too. I kept trying to find an excuse to have a party just so she could make me one!

Once we’d nailed the mood board we moved on to the logo, which was so much fun by the way. Katie is a font wizard, I’ve barely seen anything like it from a non-Graphic designer (in the best possible way) and she has a really clear idea of what she does and doesn’t like, which is great for a designer. We wanted the main logo to be simple and fun, so we went with a playful handwritten font, which we teamed with a sleek sans serif option to give the final design a modern twist. We complemented that with some fun, vector illustrations which Katie used as sub-marks for her website to build the playfulness of the cakes Malarkey make into the new branding.

After developing the logo and the submarks we moved onto the next stage – business cards. Now these bad boys are special, and I mean really special. A fully detailed illustration Malarkey Cakes stamp, which is also fully foiled, set on a rich, deep green. The contrast just looks stunning and it’s safe to say it’s going to be a showstopper (watch this space for the full reveal).

Now, the final element we created on Malarkey Cakes’ branding journey are the cake boxes. As I’ve said before one of the essentials of successful branding is consistency, and based on the other elements I’ve talked to you about already these couldn’t just be any old cake box. And they’re not! They’re super cool, FOILED cake boxes – yes, you heard me, FOILED. The fun and luxury just doesn’t stop with Malarkey Cakes. From the moment you see a post on social, to visiting the website, receiving your order, and of course, that first bite, everything is designed to be modern, cool and playful. Watch out 2018, Malarkey Cakes are coming for you.

From discovery call to relaunch in under a month, this was a super cool project to be involved in. Everything is tailored to the individual client but I hope this little blog has given you an idea of how the branding journey works here at Branding by Nicki. I love to work with ambitious female entrepreneurs like Katie and I’m so excited to see where here story goes next as she nails her business goals for the rest of the year and beyond.

Nicki x