Art Events / Entertainment
DRAW UP
A scalable brand identity for Draw Up, an art party studio, with a mascot redesign built for cost-effective growth across new cities.
context
Draw Up Studio has been running art parties for six years. What started as informal painting sessions for friends gradually turned into a fully operating business with two venues and a loyal audience. The founder is an artist herself, and when the studio first needed a logo, she drew one. It worked. People remembered it, mostly because of one thing: Frida Kahlo.
The illustration of Frida became the studio's unofficial mascot, and the recognition was real. But the visual identity never grew beyond that single asset. No color system, no typography, no scalable graphics. Just a logo with too much detail, outdated stylistic elements, and nowhere left to go. The studio was ready to scale into new cities and needed a visual system that could grow with it.
goals
Build a cohesive visual identity that goes beyond a single logo and creates a recognizable, scalable brand system. Retain the Frida Kahlo equity the studio had already built with its audience while making the image sharper, more considered, and more contemporary.
Create a flexible identity that makes future marketing faster, more consistent, and easier to scale across locations and communication channels. Increase the perceived value of the brand through a more mature and recognizable visual presence.
Create a flexible identity that makes future marketing faster, more consistent, and easier to scale across locations and communication channels. Increase the perceived value of the brand through a more mature and recognizable visual presence.
The Insight
Unlike its competitors, Draw Up already had something rare, a visual character people actually remembered. So we shaped the creative direction around a single decision: keep Frida, but make her earned. Rather than replacing the brand's strongest asset, we transformed it into the foundation of a complete identity system. This preserved years of accumulated recognition while giving the business a more professional image built to support growth and expansion.
The Process
With that in mind, we developed three concepts, each built around Frida but expressed through a different visual language. The first explored painterly textures and expressive brushstroke inspired forms paired with elegant serif typography. The palette balanced burgundy, olive, and soft pink to create a mature identity that still felt welcoming.
The second concept, which the Client ultimately selected, leaned into illustration. Frida was redrawn in a refined style somewhere between editorial illustration and fine line tattoo art. The defining feature became a system of interchangeable accessories that change depending on the context: a wine glass for party content, an artist's palette for creative workshops, flowers for brand storytelling, or stars for celebratory moments. Instead of functioning as a static logo, the identity became an adaptable communication tool that naturally supports social media, seasonal campaigns, and future marketing materials without sacrificing consistency.
The second concept, which the Client ultimately selected, leaned into illustration. Frida was redrawn in a refined style somewhere between editorial illustration and fine line tattoo art. The defining feature became a system of interchangeable accessories that change depending on the context: a wine glass for party content, an artist's palette for creative workshops, flowers for brand storytelling, or stars for celebratory moments. Instead of functioning as a static logo, the identity became an adaptable communication tool that naturally supports social media, seasonal campaigns, and future marketing materials without sacrificing consistency.
The third concept took the most restrained direction. Frida was reconstructed from simple geometric shapes inspired by Cubism and paired with a structured palette of blues accented by a vibrant orange, creating a cleaner and more minimal expression of the brand.
The Result
The Client received a complete brand identity system built around a flexible illustration driven visual language that can scale across venues, cities, and communication formats. The refreshed Frida preserves six years of recognition while giving the brand a more refined and professional appearance that reflects where the business is today.
More importantly, the studio now has a practical system instead of a single logo. Marketing materials can be produced faster, new campaigns feel immediately recognizable, and every new location can launch with the same consistent brand experience. By turning an iconic illustration into a scalable identity, Draw Up gained a stronger foundation for expansion, improved marketing efficiency, and a brand that is built to grow alongside the business.
More importantly, the studio now has a practical system instead of a single logo. Marketing materials can be produced faster, new campaigns feel immediately recognizable, and every new location can launch with the same consistent brand experience. By turning an iconic illustration into a scalable identity, Draw Up gained a stronger foundation for expansion, improved marketing efficiency, and a brand that is built to grow alongside the business.
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