Brand Identity
Custom Patterns
Website Design & Development
Launch Design
Art Direction
The Project Scope
When Katie first came to the studio, she had been a freelance writer for a few years and experienced a lot of success writing for small brands, but realized she had a bigger vision for her company. When she brought on her first copywriter, she saw an opportunity to take her humble freelancing business and turn it into a digital agency that sourced the best talent in freelance writers and matched them with brands who are doing amazing things in the digital space.
After getting burned by an ambitious corporate marketing tycoon early in her career, Katie found herself backed into a corner and unable to work with any local companies in the marketing or communications space. So, as a last result, she started working in the online space… and struck gold. As she navigated the highs and lows of online entrepreneurship, she leaned into the natural evolution of her digital company and found her writing voice along the way.
Katie has a huge heart for community and wanted to create an opportunity for other writers to work on interesting projects with modern digital brands and be part of a life-giving, collaborative team. The Collective Source is equal parts marketing hub and writer community that connects innovative digital companies with top writing talent.
The Collective Source
LOGO Suite
The Challenge
K
atie felt like her previous branding was standing in the way of attracting the caliber of clients she wanted the agency to work with. “In order to be what we say we are, we have to look the part.” She wanted her company to be taken seriously and respected in the industry. So the new brand needed to have the sophistication and edge that would break through the noise and disrupt the digital space.
During discovery, we really didn’t have any competitors that came to the foreground who were doing the kind of digital agency model that Katie was building. Katie had an existing clientele from her independent freelancing days, but wanted to take herself out of the company with the rebrand, creating a platform for her writers and team to shine. So we wanted to build a brand that flourished under Katie’s personal experience, but took everything to a new, elevated level.
Katie often referred to her “alter ego” New York City journalist that was a major contributing factor to her dream for the agency. We wanted to lean into this version of Katie and how it would eventually play into the development of the business and how she created the culture of TCS. She felt that the strong, editorial style would establish a standard of writing that her team would aspire to and her clients would expect.
Art Direction
URBAN NEUTRAL // EDITORIAL EDGE // TAILORED // SIGNATURE // LUXURY // SOPHISTICATED // PERSONAL // CONFIDENT
The overarching desire that Katie had for the brand was for her company to feel elevated and professional, the grown up version of the business she originally started. She wanted something classic, timeless, a foundation in which to build her legacy and career.
Our original inspiration pulled from Katie’s Southern roots, and while we wanted it to have a slightly sassy, edgy personality, we still aimed to maintain a sophisticated, big-city look and feel. We leaned into the warmth of Southern hospitality and the ambition and pace of New York. We were heavily inspired by the newsroom and fashion magazines, and wanted a layered, exciting, recognizable look to the brand that serves as a digital beacon to the writing community.
LOCATION: FLORIDA
INDUSTRY: COPYWRITING & MARKETING
The Identity
Your Source for Tailored, Sharp, & Sophisticated Marketing
We wanted this new brand to feel highly editorial, fresh and sophisticated, and have the intense energy of a newsroom. The Collective Source operates like a combination of fast-paced journalism and rich editorial storytelling. Their digital team of writers thrive off of well-organized folders, aggressive deadlines, creative ownership, and enjoying the end of a productive workday, and we wanted the full brand to reflect that.
We built upon the logo palette with a library of brand patterns and textures that played into the idea of the newsroom and also her urban inspiration. The inky marble textures give her brand a luxury finish, while the overlapped typeset newspaper pattern gives her content a layered, editorial, news-clipping aesthetic. We knew that these patterns would compliment her brand photography in a way that gives her flexibility in her marketing materials and added to the overall experience of the brand.
Since launching The Collective Source, we’ve extended the brand online with a digital home base and website for the agency and assisted Katie as she’s rolled out the brand and begun curating her founding collective of writers. It’s been a joy to watch this company thrive and create opportunities for writers all over the country and inspire other creative service providers to think bigger.
Credit
PHOTOGRAPHY: LEXI ARIELLE
LAUNCHED 2021 / @THECOLLECTIVESOURCECO
THE OUTCOME
Before starting this branding project, I was feeling so uninspired and frustrated because I had such a vision but couldn't figure out how to display it. This new identity really gave me permission to show up as the CEO I wanted to become and the response from our clients has reflected that. Our past clients say our new look represents us so well and aligns so perfectly with who we are and how we serve. And our new inquiries treat us with a level of respect and sophistication that we weren't receiving before.
Since launching, we've attracted who trust us as the experts and know that we deliver on what we display.
end clients
more high
Katie Dyal, The Collective Source
CUSTOM BRANDING EXPERIENCE
Get Started
We don’t just create logos, we develop storytelling frameworks — an anchor that allows you to connect with your audience and be recognizable to them online. From this holistic approach, you’ll have more than a style guide at the end of your project, you’ll have an empire ready to disrupt your industry.
LEARN MORE
