Lan Anh Ng designed these business cards for Saudade, a conceptual branding project for a clothing line.
Speaking of her design process, Lan said, “I usually start from the original to build up a close rationale and I choose to start from language to create a name for my imaginary business.”
“A personal project such as this is where I was allowed to feel free with my creative thinking. I tend to find the inspirations through anything that I have a chance to know, things that bring a strong feeling to me, then the visual and the whole story are going to base on those feelings or inspirations.”
Saudade /ˌsaʊˈdɑːdə/; is a nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and then lost; ‘the love that remains’.
“The first time I knew about the word Saudade and its definition, I had goosebump! After that, the first thing popped into my head is the word, ‘love’. Love is a powerful feeling that connects people together. So, the brand, Saudade, stands for a state of feeling that someone is far away from their lover and they miss the smell of the fabric from their lover’s clothes. That’s how I see the connection between Saudade and ‘clothing’, which is also why I chose Saudade as a tailor store instead of a cosmetic, fashion brand or anything else,” Lan explained.
With the visualization, Lan chose an iconic image that is very familiar with everyone – a needle. She said, “People use needle to sew ragged clothings, same as how customers choose Saudade due to the smell and texture of the fabric which reminds them about their lover.”
“By using a very old typefaces (Baskerville) that feels elegant, elongated and minimal; inspired by the lost identity of tailor – a needle, we developed a simple yet elegant wordmark and visual identity, which incorporates clean typography and an abstract, petal lines, appealing to a contemporary, design-savvy customer base. Unique forms that arch around lines and bold strikes that frame assets create an interesting graphic dimension to the brand.”
The secondary element is a needle, thread and thea amplexicaulis flower. Lan continued, “A tonal colour palette was developed to refer to the love (pink) and mysterious (dark blue), creating a brand that is truly connected to every individual emotion.”
These business cards are not printed and if they were, here is how Lan envisioned them to be, “The cards have to be soft and raw. The perfect paper is Linen paper, which looks and feels like the linen fabric. Its texture is frequently used when you want an elegant look so it’s suitable for the brand. A special effect on the back is to be applied to the needle icon via UV printing technique (as a hidden message).”
Designed by Lan Anh Ng
For Saudade
