A top view of various Salty Woodsman business cards.
A top view of various Salty Woodsman business cards.

The Salty Woodsman | Stay Salty

Nile & Nadine’s shop was previously NV Seafood. They came to Clever Jane and Majorette to help them rebrand to showcase a larger offering. Located in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, they wanted their shop to be a destination for locals and travellers alike passing through on the way to the West Coast. They were no longer just selling seafood; they had home goods, gifts, and pantry items.

The Problem

The number one goal was to grow awareness of The Salty Woodsman as a company, but also of their expanding offering. First and foremost, we needed to make it very clear who they were, what they sold and where they were located. Then bring it to vibrant life with a brand identity that was fun, quirky and a little bit wild.

Credits

Agency

Clever Jane

  • My Role

    • Lead Designer Brand

    • Brand Illustrations

The Team

Design & Development: Liz Parsons, Emily Kiana, Barry Begus

Naming & Messaging: Marget Milne, Elizabeth Hewitt

Photography: Danika Sea

The Salty Woodsman wordmark in teal on a turquoise background.

Wordmark

The SW monogram in turquoise on a cedar coloured background.

Monogram

Three product labels: Fresh Seafood, Home Goods, and Pantry Items in pink and cedar overlayed over a collage of animal characters in a monochromatic illustration style.

The Concept

Stay Salty

With a name and tagline written by Majorette, the concept became very clear. Every aspect of the brand needed to be a little bit salty. How could we show saltiness in a variety of ways? Illustrations covered in salt inspired by watercolour salt effects, a slightly "salty" attitude to the characters, more-is-more typography, and clashing colours.

Emily Kiana and Liz Parsons holding of a Salty Woodsman banner in front of a hedge.
A printout of colour swatches with notes written in pen and a Pantone Colour Bridge book overlayed on top with various yellow swatches open.

The Solution

Inspired by lake houses, palm springs motels, and gloriously tacky wallpapers, the Salty brand came to life with typography influenced by the jagged fish bones, and one-of-a-kind illustrations (picture pipe smoking seagulls and fish in top hats). With each illustration we highlighted the variety of products they sell, while injecting a major hit of personality. Slightly off-beat, the illustrations, combined with loud clashing colours created a brand identity that is tongue-in-cheek and completely irresistible.

The front and back of a Salty Woodsman teal crewneck sweatshirt. The front has their wordmark and the back has a Seagull wearing a toque smoking a pipe. To the right is a yellow tote bag with a grid of fish illustrations wearing top hats printed in a cedar colour.
A gift wrapped in Salty Woodsman illustrated character tissue paper with Salty Woodsman logo stickers closing it shut and surrounding the gift in the background.
A photo of Nile and Nadine in front of their Salty Woodsman cabin storefront with their three dogs.
A Salty Woodsman teal Sandwich Board in front of their Cabin Storefront.
  • 3 illustrated fish in top hats that are teal on a pink background.
  • 3 illustrated deer that are turquoise on a cedar background.
  • 3 tree illustrated tree stumps that are cedar on a yellow background.
  • 3 illustrated seagulls wearing toques, striped shirts, and smoking pipes in yellow on a teal background.
  • A teal monochromatic collage illustration of the Salty Woodsman characters.
  • A hand holding a live shrimp with a blurred out natural background.
A pink icecream cup with chocolate swirl soft serve in it. The cup says "Happy Things for Salty People" with the SW monogram.
The Salty Woodsman Cabin front with window signage and a sandwich board.
A Salty Woodsman gift bag with a light turquoise collage illustration and writing in teal script that says "Stay Salty."

All Work

Work