Branding a Depop Seller: Evaluation

Evaluation

For this brief I was tasked with designing a rebrand for a profile on the online buying and selling platform, Depop. The nature of this app focuses on the recycling of old clothing, reduction of waste produced from the fashion industry, and giving power back to the consumer through individual seller profiles. As such, the design problem centred around the promotional values of the new brand, and ways to communicate to a young audience of 13-25, stand out within a loud and saturated market, whilst still maintain a level of professional authority beyond the average 'teen seller'. 

This project ended up going on longer than planned, as the seller got more popular, she needed more and more deliverables. Initially the time span was pretty open, which on reflection should have been more defined as it ended up dragging on. Nonetheless, I wanted to keep providing designs as to secure a client that seemed to be getting bigger and thus needed more design work. Additionally, this growth in popularity was a great forum for getting my work out, and due to the design decisions, production was fast pace and considered, which meant files could be sent over email as they were ready. Hence, although the brief did bite into a lot more time than planned, it built a relationship that will maintain for the foreseeable future.

The digital developments had a simple and consistent brand guideline of colour palette, type hierarchy and square format. Carried by the existing Depop branding, the rebrand focused on projecting the intended message with a youthful tone of voice. Being a member of Depop, the design had a clear understanding of the purpose and design of the app, however additional research into the contexts of successful sellers and demographic helped inform the development of the branding's language.  

Even though it was for a client, the design really took control of this brief, which was a refreshing change. The context of the brief meant I could work on something in-line with my own ethics, and that I knew a lot about as a result of my COP2 investigation, which kept the design stimulated and relevant. The client had a meeting with Depop and showed them her new branding before launching it. They were very pleased with it, which also gave the design more confidence with its following outputs and art direction. 

In contrast with prior client left briefs, the design learnt that if you make a convincing argument the client will listen to you. If you sound like you know what your talking about, and you do, then they will trust you as a professional in this sector. As a result of this, the relationship with this client was very positive and smooth, and the reason why the design was happy to take on more work.