Willow, Ash, & Maple

Art Direction + Design + IDENTITY


Willow, Ash, & Maple is a forthcoming antique and home goods retail brand based in the Catskills. Via Ilios Media, I was enlisted to create a logo and overall visual identity.

The goal of the project is to create something timeless while still specifically referencing the visual history of the Catskills: as a romanticized wilderness in the 18th and 19th centuries, a resort paradise in the mid-20th century, and the flourishing community of local artists and multigenerational farmers of the present.

With this unique blend of styles and eras in mind, I created a wordmark reminiscent of 19th-century typefaces found in travel books and photo portfolios but with a modern sensibility featuring wider curves and free-floating rounded cross bars. The wordmark also has an abbreviated form for smaller applications like social media or small tags, etc.

The visuals brand package leverages Catskill-inspired versions of primary colors - the deep blues of river waters, the gold and fire-red of autumn foliage, and an eggshell/canvas white.

The overall package is embellished with open-source vintage artwork depicting furniture, native flora and fauna, and Catskills landscapes. The use of these elements allows for the brand to have an additional fixed visual dimension without relying on imagery of specific inventory which will change over time.