Ecommerce design
I worked with this brand on their eCommerce experience to bring sustainable, and stunning clothing online.
As an established and revered brand gracing the bodies of celebrities and lighting up the streets of Los Angeles for decades, Kutula sourced one-of-a-kind fabrics from Zambia and Nigeria, handcrafting them into custom-made pieces. Having grown their team, they made the decision to offer select pieces online. They needed a platform that not only allowed them to have their first ecommerce venture, but also showcase their other services (such as costume design), and position themselves as the cultural icon they are to potentially create a lifestyle brand wrap-around that was being considered. With a small business budget we hopefully made a few things sparkle for the next evolution. Shout out to Kay (co-owner), Nikia (model), and the fabrics who inspired so much of this work.
2017 Project
My role
Creative director
Website designer
Website developer
Services
Brand development
eCommerce design
Packaging design
Shop collateral
Social media design
Custom lettering
Team
Photography: Cory Osborne
Model: Nikia Phoenix
Videographer: Carlos Medina
Stylist: Sussy Campos
Copywriting: Lyndsay Rush
Objective
We needed to create a brand where Kutula was seen as both a leader and friend in the field—one where they could cultivate a loyal audience who wanted their unique statement pieces and also wanted much more from the brand. They also needed a platform for media representatives, celebrity stylists, and film costume designers to trust them and reach out for bespoke services.
Designing and developing the ecommerce platform
We kept the online store simple to allow each seasonal photoshoot to stand out. As the products are all statement pieces with bold, bright patterns, this would allow them to flourish as the Kutula philosophy is centered on mixing and matching their pieces with your quality closet staples.
Building a brand
Kutula had a strong presence offline, and their patterns and clothing constructions needed to be the star of the show. There wasn't a logo we could use across collateral, so we presented the brand with numerous option myself and our designer whipped up. As Kutula had also been working with an awesome copywriter we were able to incorporate this work and from here we grew the brand guidelines so they could be applied online, on social channels, and across all shopping materials.
Growing a blog with a following
Kutula had been building an audience on their social socials channels that we wanted to bring to their website and grow the appeal of. We developed an idea to separate the blog into two sections – one for the writing pieces concentrated around lifestyle, and one for their outfits. Placing a strong emphasis on the public investing in their statement pieces to mix with their staples, the outfit section was designed to show them how they could do this and collaborate with quality minimal brands and online retailers. Doing it with this method allowed shareable outfit images to also be instantly created for the socials for helpful layering tips, in between all the incredible photos.
Swing tags
The swing tags for the product were laser cut into a minimal wood and card piece and doubled up with a campaign photo on the tag behind it (which included the clothing details including size, barcode, price). The opaque logo was designed to be a window into the Kutula world. You could see the bold, striking patterns peeking through, and it could be using in front of clothing patterns and travel across social media.
Product boxes
The box packaging for the online store was crafted to have a magnetic open/close entry point for a sleek, minimal design. The logo was printed raised for a tactile touch & look. Inside, the clothing items would be wrapped in soft tissue paper.
Shopping bags
For in-store customers, the shop bag required a quick update. We reflected the style of the box, kept it minimal, and raised the logo for the same elegant look and feel.
Easy help and additional pages
I designed a system for new pages to be easily added to their site that either fell into the primary menu or the secondary support menu. Plus, Kutula was creating and collaborating on costume design for red carpet appearances, and for incredible films such as Marvel's Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, and more. We wanted to make sure these were showcased in due time!
