A BRANDING CASE STUDY
Great design starts with empathy, whether it’s for a brand or a user. Here’s how I brought both into this project.
Karameli is a luxury home-baking brand created for a client who specializes in high-end treats like macarons, cakes, and artisanal sweets. She came to me with a dream: to transform her passion into a professional, distinctive brand that felt polished but still warm, fun, and handmade. From the brand name to the logo, visual identity, tone of voice, and packaging extensions, my job was to build something from the ground up, something that could live confidently on Instagram, at craft markets, and eventually on retail shelves.
KARAMELI
The client’s baking was exceptional, visually stunning and gourmet in taste, but she didn’t yet have a brand that reflected that quality. Many home bakers fall into two camps visually: either overly minimalist and sterile, or too busy and homespun. We needed to strike a unique balance: a brand that felt elevated yet accessible, professional but still infused with personality and charm. This meant developing not just a logo, but a whole identity system that could scale as the business grew, working across everything from Instagram stickers and thank-you cards to future packaging and labeling.
THE CHALLENGE
Our process began with deep exploration. I conducted visual and strategic audits of competitors and peers in the boutique baking space, paying close attention to how local and international bakeries were presenting themselves online and in packaging. Many leaned heavily on pinks, cursive fonts, and overly sweet motifs. While charming, this aesthetic lacked distinction and didn’t always reflect a premium product.
Simultaneously, I worked with the client to understand her vision, personality, and values. She emphasized care, joy, indulgence, and detail, all of which became central to the brand story.
The name Karameli emerged from a playful brainstorm session between the client and I, rooted in her love of caramel tones, but with a slightly international, boutique-sounding flair. It was short, warm, memorable, and had that artisanal feel we were after.
DISCOVERY & RESEARCH
visual direction & brand strategy
With the name in place, I moved into moodboarding. I pulled references from boutique patisseries, warm-toned interiors, and food photography to create a look that evoked softness, richness, and handcrafted charm. The palette leaned toward warm neutrals, beige, cream, soft caramel, with enough contrast to remain legible and luxurious. This wasn’t just a colour choice; it was a strategic move to visually reflect key ingredients in baking, brown sugar, buttercream, vanilla.
I also mapped out the brand voice, playful, elegant, and honest. We wanted the copy tone to sound like a kind, creative friend: never too formal, but always refined and thoughtful.
The logo became the heart of the identity. I started with wordmarks in several typefaces, experimenting with ways to infuse motion or personality without becoming childish. The breakthrough moment came when I turned the lowercase “a” into a piping bag illustration, visually subtle, but instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with baking. It captured the essence of the brand: lovingly handmade, with skill and finesse. The piping bag’s placement suggests motion and creation, as if it’s actively “writing” the name.
Typography was chosen for its classic serif structure, giving the brand a foundation of reliability and craft. The soft curvature of the letters echoed the smoothness of piped icing or the delicate roundness of a macaron.
LOGO DEVELOPMENT
Brand Extensions & Packaging Exploration
While the brand wasn’t yet producing printed packaging in bulk, I worked on several packaging-ready mockups to prepare her for that next phase. I designed stickers for bakery boxes featuring the logo and icon, thank-you card templates using the brand tone of voice, business cards, cake boards and early explorations for ingredient labels and barcode placement, so the brand could grow into retail or market settings with ease.
In this way, the brand began functioning as a full system, even if it was still small-scale.
The brand launch was a success!
Once the designs were finalised, I was able to get print materials made for my client along with 3d laser engraved cake boards and acrylic wall signs to bring our designs to life! My client reported a noticeable increase in online engagement after introducing the new visuals. The brand helped her feel more confident pitching to local markets, and created a clear visual anchor that made her stand out next to other stalls and home bakeries.
Most importantly, the Karameli brand now reflects the quality and care that goes into every product. It’s designed to be scalable, distinct, and memorable, ready to evolve as the business grows into larger markets or product lines.
Karameli is a perfect example of how thoughtful branding can elevate a small business into something that feels lasting and premium. For me as a designer, it was an opportunity to lead a project from ideation to execution, collaborating closely with the client to bring her vision to life while keeping scalability and future growth in mind. It also showed the power of balancing aesthetic appeal with strategic thinking, something I’m passionate about bringing into every product and packaging design I do.
Thank you for reading!
