brand identity
oberlander
Professor
Course
Margarita Barrios Ponce
Identity and Brand Design
A semester-long identity and brand design project, Oberlander offered me a way to explore the intersection of visual/graphic storytelling and structural minimalism in order to build a resonant and strategically sound brand. Inspired by the principles of the Bauhaus design movement alongside those of the Mid-Century and Postmodern, I sought to position Oberlander as a refined, artistic, and environmentally conscious furniture brand for a design-savvy audience. The name "Oberlander" is a personal homage to my mother’s maiden name and a nod to my German heritage. It reinforces the brand's connection to German design traditions while aligning with the industry norm wherein many furniture brands are named after contributing designers or founders.
synopsis
Jan. 2025 - Apr. 2025
Strategy • Frameworking • Identity Design • Environmental & Spatial Design • Presentation & Communication • Branding
•
Strategy • Frameworking • Identity Design • Environmental & Spatial Design • Presentation & Communication • Branding •
Create a complete brand identity from scratch. My respective solution was a fictional high-end furniture brand that channels design history into tangible and functional artistry. The challenge was to differentiate this brand in a saturated market while building a cohesive and expressive identity that could live across physical and digital platforms.
The Challenge
Having always been interested in the intersection of art and design, furniture design (especially within the Mid-Century and Bauhaus traditions) embodies this intersection by balancing form and function with emotion. Unlike gallery brands that rely on licensing or curation, furniture afforded me the practical freedom to work with iconic forms and open-domain inspirations, enabling me to shape a full identity rooted in existing legacy.
Why Oberlander?
1
The Deliverables
brand book
The 44-page brand book that exhibits Oberlander’s typography, messaging, audience insights, tone of voice, and showroom experience. A strategic tone and refined visual identity establish the brand as both grounded and premium.
brand poster
The brand poster organizes Oberlander’s identity into a single visual composition. It uses structural typography, a minimalist layout, and material-driven imagery to communicate the brand’s core values of craftsmanship, sustainability, and intentional design. The poster balances form and negative space to echo the clarity and restraint found in the furniture itself and characteristic of the industry at large.
2
The Process
initial moodboard
Oriented towards an audience of design-savvy buyers, architects, and interior designers, Oberlander offers structural, responsibly crafted furniture that’s built for the long term. Value is derived from a functional, emotional, and financial proposition: design integrity, expression, and premium quality. Through artistically inspired craft built with superior and sustainable materials, the product evokes a sense of pride and personal expression within the consumer and their space.
strategic
positioning
ideation
I began by researching competitor brands while establishing the core values and value proposition of Oberlander. Brands like Herman Miller, Poliform, Eames, and Gaggenau provided reference points for structure, tone, and restraint. From there, I developed the brand foundation and positioning before transitioning into secondary functions such as messaging and audience insights.
value positioning
tone and
messaging
The brand communicates with a refined and succinct voice in order to strike a balance between both sophistication and approachability.
Throughout messaging, I wanted to emphasize quality, design, and transparency to speak to savvy audiences while avoiding pretension. Visually, the brand uses minimalist, structural layouts that are softened by organic textures and warm tones – reflecting its influences. The result creates a clean yet human brand presence that feels both elevated and authentic, aligning its storytelling with values of sustainability, heritage, and artistic integrity.
Designing the logo, I prioritized a clean, minimalist, and balanced form that could serve multiple purposes in messaging. The end result helps to reinforce the phonetic emphasis on the first syllable of Oberlander, while geometric simplicity furthers the subdued tone of the brand and mirrors the architectural discipline of furniture design.
Designed to function both as a deconstructed wordmark and a visual element, the logo integrates into layout systems, product tags, and digital environments, as an identifier and structural device.
