Desiring a stark contrast from Shopify's polished image, How&How's creative director discusses Big Cartel's major rebrand.
Art-Loving Mavericks Unite: Big Cartel's Gritty Rebrand Amplifies Independent Spirit
Back in 2005, Big Cartel emerged with a revolutionary idea – empowering small artists and creators by providing them with a customized platform to sell their goods. Fast forward to today, powerhouses like Etsy and Shopify have stole the limelight, while Big Cartel's unique selling proposition went somewhat unnoticed. All that changed with a gutsy rebrand that aims to shine a spotlight on the platform's wide array of offerings, yet maintaining its unparalleled simplicity.
This rebranding odyssey was prompted by a palpable need for a fresh identity. Big Cartel no longer caters exclusively to indie crafters, but aspires to make it a breeze for any creative entrepreneur to launch a tailor-made, branded platform to flaunt their work. The platform has evolved, and it's time for its image to follow suit.
Enter the branding mavericks at How&How, who were called into action to re-center Big Cartel and help the platform sell its unique strengths as effectively as it helps its own customers. According to How&How, the new brand identity is a "real scrapper" with a spirited, tattooed-in-notebooks vibe intended to fire up members to peddle their wares like never before. The voice is punchy, audacious, and unabashedly opinionated, breaking through the clutter of the impersonal, soulless digital marketplace.
"We knew we wanted to create something that hits like a freight train through the glossy world of Shopify," Creative Director Chris Clayton said. "Something that speaks right to the indie roots of Big Cartel, breaks a few rules, and offers a soulful, analog touch in the otherwise heartless digital world."
The brief handed to How&How was clear: transform Big Cartel's image from a niche, indie brand for artists and makers to a platform that shatters convention and inspires aspiring entrepreneurs to bring their boldest business dreams to life. The resulting rebranding effort is aptly named "Goodbye, Caution," a brand built for the risk-takers, the visionaries, and the unapologetic.
"This is where the brand came to life," Chris began, explaining the inspiration behind the name. The brand conceit is stripped down and uncomplicated, shielding itself so that creators can focus on taking those initial steps towards building their new online ventures. The tone of voice is raw, genuine, daring, and uncompromising – qualities rarely found in today’s sterile digital marketplaces.
Originally, a logo revamp was off the cards, but it soon became clear that the mark needed to exude the same rebellious spirit that courses through the new brand. The team settled on using ES Replan as the headline font, and when they learned that the font's creators, Extraset, are themselves Big Cartel users, a serendipitous collaboration was born.
"It was destiny, really," Chris admits. "Extraset fit the bill perfectly, and the resulting custom wordmark is a bone-crushing powerhouse that screams 'Make your mark!' The pairing with our hand-drawn icon creates a logo that is decidedly scrappy, bold, and fiercely independent, the perfect symbol for our unrelenting army of creative entrepreneurs."
The rebrand goes beyond a facelift; it's a second wind for the brand, allowing it to carve its niche in the increasingly competitive marketplace that has evolved drastically since its inception. For more on branding news, check out the more subdued rebrand efforts from titans like Amazon and Adobe. Here's the original article as a starting point:
Big Cartel started with a big idea. Launched in 2005, it provided a platform for small artists and crafters to sell their goods via customised online shops with built-in access to sales tools. Since then, the likes of Etsy and Shopify have become more widely known names among the general public, while Big Cartel's USP got a bit lost in the noise. That's now being fixed with a bold and scrappy rebrand that manages to communicate both the platform's breadth and its simplicity.
- The rebranding endeavor for Big Cartel aimed to amplify its wide array of offerings, maintaining its unparalleled simplicity and catering to any creative entrepreneur.
- How&How was enlisted as the branding mavericks to re-center Big Cartel and help it sell its unique strengths effectively.
- The new brand identity, named "Goodbye, Caution," is a "real scrapper" with a spirited, unconventional vibe, intended to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs.
- The logo revamp included the use of ES Replan as the headline font, with a serendipitous collaboration between Big Cartel and its creators, Extraset.
- The resulting custom wordmark is a bold and fierce symbol that represents the unrelenting army of creative entrepreneurs.
- The rebrand signifies a second wind for the brand, carving its niche in the increasingly competitive marketplace while other giants, such as Amazon and Adobe, follow more subdued rebranding efforts.
- The rebrand goes beyond a facelift, allowing Big Cartel to remain gritty and relevant in the era of technology and lifestyle businesses.
