Plushettes
Crochet plush toys designed and handmade by me! With a new business comes new branding, a new website, and marketing materials.
Based on competitor research, developed a unique visual identity for Plushettes
Creative Direction
Developed and maintain Shopify website for e-commerce
Web Design
Design patterns from scratch, source materials, and craft toys by hand
Toy Design
Overview
In early 2023 I decided to learn how to crochet - and within weeks I figured out how to design my own crochet patterns and begun making original plushies!
While I do have an extensive plushie collection, my new handmade friends were taking up a LOT of space in my apartment - and yarn is expensive. So I decided to open a shop!
With a new shop comes branding, visual identity, and a website. All my plushies are inspired by my own illustration style - pink, pastel, soft, and a little bit retro. Kinda like Hello Kitty’s weird, anxious cousin.
Creative Direction
As mentioned, I based the designs of the plushies off of my own artwork. I wanted to make sure that the branding complemented the illustrations and, in turn, the plushies themselves.
I chose the name Plushettes for a few reasons:
“plush” = plushies! I wanted it to be clear what the product was.
“-ette” = feminine, even girlish. My artwork is very unapologetically “girly” and I wanted people to know upfront what they were getting into.
Borrowing from Squishmallows, I decided to make the brand name also the name of the plushies themselves. So, the plushies themselves are Plushettes!
Web Design
I chose Shopify as a platform for my shop since I wanted complete control over the Plushettes brand and how it was presented. I love Etsy - but one of the downsides of using it is that it’s difficult to build a brand on it. When people buy something from an Etsy shop, they say they “got it on Etsy” rather than from a specific brand.
For the Visual Design of the site, I wanted it to be a fun, light place to be without being too loud or having the design overpower the plushies.
Social Graphics
And with the products made, branding done, website launched - next is time to promote! Plushettes is active on Instagram and I created fun social graphics to help spread the word about Plushettes.
