Brand Design
Veedubs
The Veedubs brand was born out of a passion for the VW scene, started as a Sanders Design side project the new brand has quickly gathered a following on social media with over 14k followers on Facebook. Veedubs branded social media content is regularly received by audiences frequently exceeding 50k subscribers via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook combined.
Having attended many VW festivals and events, Martin Sanders saw an opportunity to create a brand. Witnessing the power attached to such an iconic name, Martin made the brand logo design, listed Veedubs Ltd, and registered the associated trademarks to protect the brand identity officially.
Connecting the Veedubs brand design with its audience, Veedubs launched an online members gallery where users can upload images and details about their own VW vehicles. It is this dedication to bringing exciting stories to its audience, which has helped the Veedubs brand to launch an original range of brand design merchandise that includes branded clothing and the ever-popular free logo bumper sticker.
Veedubs was an unusual project, being a Sanders Design side project I was effectively my ‘own’ client. This unique situation meant that market research, strategy and planning were all conducted in-house. With no business client to bounce ideas off, the brand design, website and branded merchandising would all be created based on customer feedback.
Having already spent several years attending related events and even converting an old VW campervan, I had a good understanding of the audience. The VW scene, like many communities, has pockets of interest, so whether it be air-cooled, retro or performance-related the Veedubs brand identity needed to provide a consistent design style which would appeal to all quarters.
Once the brand package had been created and tested, and merchandise designed and sourced, we needed an eCommerce website to sell the new Veedubs branded collection. Having extensive experience with developing websites using WooCommerece, it was only logical that Sanders Design would create a WordPress website.
The Veedubs brand design has received a positive reception. With a significant increase in social media followers after the launch of the new logo design and many new orders placed for official branded merchandise. The website member’s gallery now has more than 100 vehicles listed. Having a registered trademark and a range of branded merchandise Veedubs Ltd has established its identity within the VW community.
Due to Veedubs being a passion project, I was able to draw from many years of market research.
I already had a good understanding of the marketplace. I know that the VW scene has many pockets of varying interest, from air-cooled classics to modern performance-orientated vehicles. The branding design would need to appeal to all audiences.
Seeing that authenticity and originality were crucial parts of the VW scene, I decided to create a branding design which would be nostalgic while still appealing to young and old audiences.
To test these assumptions, I first created several unbranded illustrations and uploaded artwork to popular VW social media groups. After receiving positive comments, I know that the brand style guide would appeal to my intended marketplace.
I created a brand design which featured a robust typographic text logo design which could be used as a roundel for items such as bumper stickers and in a landscape format for use in t-shirts and caps.
Having completed the branding design, I produced a website which features members’ galleries and a website shop. The Veedubs website uses the WordPress content management system, with the support of GeoDirectory for the gallery and WooCommerce for eCommerce.
