All good things come to a refresh.
Founded in 2008, Frances May is a directional women’s and men’s boutique located in Portland, OR. The shop was originally created as a joint venture between grandmother, Connie Codding, and granddaughter, Pamela Baker-Miller, and named in honor of Connie’s mother, Frances May, who was a school teacher.
When Pamela began to expand the shop in its early days, she partnered with us to create a holistic brand, inspired by her grandmother.
We built the brand around the nostalgia of classic school supplies—using typography from old flashcards, stickers of approval, and library book slips to give the brand the feeling of a vintage classroom.
Over a decade later, we met with our good friend Pamela to elevate and refresh the Frances May brand and packaging system in a way that matched the company’s growth and evolution.
The updated identity reinforces the idea that fashion should be a celebration. It combines a bold, nuanced logotype—updating and elevating the logo while keeping its original spirit and inspiration—with a refined custom font, and secondary “yes” mark that speaks to the joy of finding your next favorite outfit.
We underpinned the brand marks with a neutral color palette that allows the seasonal colors, patterns, and prints in their shop to shine and an oversized grid pattern that, while a nod to classic scholastic graph paper, becomes a fashion statement in its scale and application.
To update Frances May’s packaging, we leveraged refreshed visual elements to create a sustainable and functional system that packs an iconic punch. The packaging system is a balance between energetic, graphic elements and elevated, artful brand moments. Simple, nondescript exteriors sealed with custom tape are contrasted by custom printed tissue paper that draws imagery from art and textile design.
