Fierce Mellifera: Logo Design Case Study

Fierce Mellifera is an upscale, eco-conscious clothing and accessories boutique located in Portland, Oregon. The boutique showcases made in the USA products that are manufactured using sustainable processes and fabrics. 

My client came to me for a design that was organic and reflected the sustainable and eco-friendly products that they sell, while suggesting a more refined and upscale look. The name "Fierce Mellifera" was personally significant to my client, who explained the concept as this;

"When the environment is stable, you get bees."

Mellifera is the name of the Western Honey Bee and translates to, "honey-bearing." The honeybee was central to the logo concept.

Project Moodboard

I started gathering colors, textures and a few modern retail logos and created a moodboard to guide the rest of the process. I needed to create something that stood out as upscale and trendy amongst the rest of the "eco-friendly" brands and that also stood out in the sea of modern independent retailers and minimalist branding. 

I started brainstorming symbols, icons and ways to incorporate the honey bee into the logo, eventually created a simplified line drawing of a bee in Illustrator.

I looked for a font with a hand-drawn, organic aesthetic that was clean enough to translate onto printed materials and found the perfect one for the project. 

The color scheme that we decided on was earthy and light, and delicate enough to counter the weight of the wordmark. 

The final logo set includes a the wordmark, bee symbol and stamp.