SEVERN COOPER - IDENTITY - RESEARCH

Name Research - “Severn” “Cooper”

"Severn" -

• The name Severn is an English baby name. In English, the meaning of the name Severn is Strict. Restrained. Surname.
• The name Severn is thought to derive from a Celtic original name *sabrinnā, of uncertain meaning. That name then developed in different languages to become Sabrina to the Romans, Hafren in Welsh, and Severn in English.
• The river name is recorded as early as the 2nd-century ad in the form Sabrina. This is one of Britain’s most ancient river names; the original meaning is uncertain, but it may have been ‘slow-moving’.
• The River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren, Latin: Sabrina) is a river in the United Kingdom. At about 220 miles (354 km), it is usually considered to be the longest in the UK. 
• The river travels through Powys/Shropshire/Worcestershire/Gloucestershire

"Cooper" - 

• English/Anglo Saxon origins. 
• Occupational name for a maker and repairer of wooden vessels such as barrels, tubs, buckets, casks, and vats.
• Cooper family crest - small details could be used within the identity 

Billy Tannery - www.billytannery.co.uk

• First entirely goat leather brand 
• Mirco tannery - makes their products have a fine attention to detail, high quality, highly sustainable and small batch.
• Consistent branding across the whole identity - from the website logo to the embossed stamp on the leather goods. 
• The logo has a good mix of traditional with the Serif type this helps to like the traditional style of handcraftsmanship and yet the goat emblem helps to keep the whole identity contemporary with their new approach to leather goods.  

Chapman - www.chapmanbags.com

• Go to brand for quality and craftsmanship
• The care that goes into each bag needed to be reflected in the design 
• The design links back to English heritage yet they have executed the design in a contemporary style for it to appeal to the modern gentleman.  
• Chapman's overall aesthetic suggests that it is a larger company so therefore the design has a corporate approach.

Cherchbi - www.cherchbi.co.uk

• The first company to make bags from wool which comes from the Herdwick breed of sheep - USP 
• Brand values - craft modern design, robust, traditional 
• The brand itself lends itself to the modern gentleman - the bold logotype suggests sophistication and appreciation to for high-quality finishes.
• They present themselves well as a brand - keeping the consistency throughout all of their products, the branding is sublet as they want the products to be the main point of contact with the customers. The customers are also the sort of customers that don't like BIG logos so it is essential for it to be sublet and clean.     

Herz - www.herz-bag.jp

• Leading Japanese leather good company - 40 years old 
• Their product style is "one by one" - this can be seen through their logo which suggests heritage and quality goods. 
• Herz = strong - so the capitalized logo helps enforce this value which they have been keen to enforce since their establishment 40 years ago. 

Isaac Renia - www.isaacreina.com

• Simple and clean design - which suggests that the brand has attention to detail and wants to attract a specific clientele. 
• The design of the goods is almost industrial - the clean san serif type is a good mark to help the very clean products feel more of a luxury item (gold foil embossing also helps). 
•  Isaac Renia has a passion for quality and this is what helps to create a lot of the super clean imagery that the brand has. The branding I almost second to the bags as the bags are very much an identity by themselves. It is important for the logo/branding not to overshadow the actual products as this is what is most important. 
• Brand values - what matters the most is beautiful material beautiful manufacturing and proportions. 

Ettinger - www.ettinger.co.uk

• One of the oldest British leather companies and the only to have a Royal Warrant - this already suggests that it has a great heritage and has a fine attention to detail as if it good enough for the royal family it must be good enough for the general public. 
• Luxury British leather brand - producing products for the British gentleman who appreciates classic and timeless design. Much like their logo which most likely had changed very little over the last 50 years. 
• Art direction - presenting your products to the audience can easily help to make sales what Ettinger have done is shown how they can still remain current with well-photographed products this is essential to be at the top of the market. 

Charlie Borrow - www.charlieborrow.com

•  USP's - Expertly handcrafted in East London (trendy), handmade one at a time to ensure quality and high-grade materials only. These help to sell the products just as much as the branding but what the branding here is a perfect asset to the products as it does not overcomplicate anything with its modern vintage style. 
• Charlie Borrow's products have a hint of military influence which is where the use of the tags works perfectly - these work as a great way to describe and package each product to the customer keeping in touch with the modern vintage style.  
• The logo is honest - with a very typical British name is the perfect asset to the products as he is adding his mark to the products that he has expertly crafted.
• Like the products which are longlasting, the logo is timeless - a serif font makes itself a lot more timeless than a san serif as they can tend to come in and out of trend very quickly so the serif helps to make it a longlasting identity and good foundation for development.  

       

       

Alife Douglas - www.alfiedouglas.com

• A new brand trying to break away from the traditional heritage that comes with leather goods - they have a new and fresh approach. Instantly you can see from the logotype that they are different from their competitors by using lowercase san serif type. Gives friendly, playful and current vibes to the customer. 
• Their products evolve with the customers - they understand the fast-paced world we live in, they want their brand to keep up with the ever-changing trends that we have. 
• Overall the present themselves as a simple, honest and clean brand - the brand also has the essence of Scandinavian design which is also very popular with modern woman and gentleman. 

Other - (High Fashion brands - leather goods) 

• Leather accessories and goods are very popular among high fashion brands as leather is a luxury material - looking how these companies also brand their leather goods is a good insight to how to apply branding to products in the best way possible. 
• The overall design of the leather goods tends to be pretty standard across most of these brands - either using embossing or foiling as fine detail to mark the product. 

Visual Inspiration 

Thoughts and Considerations 

• Having looked at a wide range of brands who produce leather products it is clear what separates the good from the best. Sticking to brand values and presenting that through the logo and then through the rest of the identity is very important as this type of products aren't cheap and the customer is paying for high-quality goods which means that brand that comes with the product should be equally as sustainable. 
• The background research into the names is also just as important this will help to inform other parts of the brand whether this is to do with a typeface choice or taking inspiration from imagery within the family crest. 
• Now that I have a good understanding of the current competitors I am able to make a good judgement on what I think works for brands like these and what doesn't especially when thinking about what elements would work well for Severn Cooper.  
• Making the brand work for a particular target market is important - there are many leather brands out there now so it is key to know how you are selling to as part of the next stage of the project a target audience profile will be made so that I can better understand how I am making the brand appeal to the most.