Heartbreak Diaries Branding, Website, & Merchandise
Client: Heartbreak Diaries
Background: The Heartbreak Diaries began as the story of a single girl who, in her quest to find passion and true love, experienced countless dating catastrophes. Paul Kiesche Design was sought after to develop the logo, website, and a line of merchandise to sell the concept in an innovative fashion via e-commerce.
What was the challenge that the Heartbreak Diaries presented you with?
Heartbreak Diaries was a site that needed to be created to be both humorous and full of empathy for the frustrated single woman. The site needed to reflect the personality of the owner as well as create a community through the use of blogging. The merchandise needed to also reflect that spirit, to be well designed, comical, and still keep the essence of the owner’s original message.
How did you go about meeting that challenge?
We started with the illustrations which became a jumping off point around which the whole project was based. Hand drawn in ball-point pen and partially colored in with highlighter pens, the illustrations were designed to be fresh and young with a doodle effect. “I just imagined a college girl in history class doodling.” says Paul. The style was kept consistent throughout the brand by creating a logo using the same technique.
The website followed in a similar fashion. A background mimicking torn paper showed off the illustrations and Flash animations to full effect. Paired with a fun script font, the site came to life with colors and movement. An online shopping cart for e-commerce was integrated into the site; features like blogs, a mailing list, and a “Tell A Friend” feature helped to keep the users informed and entertained while helping to spread the word to other consumers.
What inspired you on the design of this project?
Heartbreak Diaries is a fun and comic site filled with true stories of heartbreak. It’s easy to be inspired when working with such an interesting subject.
How was the project received? What were the results?
The illustration technique used to create the fresh look of the site has garnered a great deal of attention. Paul Kiesche Design was able to break the mold by fusing the arts of illustration and graphic design. Heartbreak Diaries was thrilled to have a website which reflected the stories that they told.
The site won the Silver Award at the Horizon Interactive Awards and the Web Award at the Awards For Internet Creativity.
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