Liquid Amber Tattoo & Art Collective is Vancouver's first female-owned and operated tattoo shop, situated in the historic Gastown district. It was founded in 2001 with a passion to contribute to the growing presence of females in the tattoo industry.

In recent years, Liquid Amber recognized the need to shift their direction to attract recurring clientele seeking larger artwork pieces. We assisted in their rebranding and repositioning efforts to establish their business as an exclusive, longstanding tattoo and art collective studio targeting a higher-end market. This transformation created an atmosphere that is community-oriented, inclusive, and appealing to their desired target audience.

Project Scope

Market Research
Logo Design
Brand Identity
Branded Environment
Digital Content

Credits

Designer / Andrew Scherle
Photographer / Jessie Robertsen
Signage Fabricators / TDH Signs

Creating the logo

In the early stages of researching Liquid Amber's history, we learned that their studio has always been dedicated to inspiring and teaching female tattoo artists to find their way in the industry. They serve as a place for artists to truly be themselves and express their work under the shelter of Liquid Amber. Like a tree, Liquid Amber has grown to become a sought-after studio for artists stemming from their core.

customizing the Wordmark

The wordmark for Liquid Amber is modified from "Harbaro," a display font designed by Jeremy Dooley. We made slight adjustments to character details, such as the curvature of the serifs, and created an artistic flow between the letterforms, allowing it to be read smoothly from left to right.

FInal Logo Lockup

Creating the Brand IDentity SYstem

The colour combination of warm and cool colors created for Liquid Amber Tattoo is intended to establish a sought-after, calming, and nurturing atmosphere within the Liquid Amber brand.

unified visual system

To establish a unified visual system across various media applications, we crafted a graphic shape derived from the leaf shapes in the logo icon. We offered Liquid Amber various shape options to inspire creativity and ensure a recognizable look throughout the brand.

Getting the artist involved

Custom illustrative artwork was commissioned by each tattoo artist to represent their unique style. This artwork was used to create personalized collateral related to each individual artist. Additionally, we art-directed a refreshed photography style for each artist to showcase them on both print and digital platforms.

Aftercare Cards

We redesigned Liquid Amber's aftercare cards to be clear and concise. By creating custom icons to identify the key steps listed in the card instructions, we made the information on the cards much more inviting and accessible.

Bringing the brand to life

Once we finalized Liquid Amber's new brand identity design, we began the process of incorporating their brand into their studio. We supplied them with paint colors that matched their color system and designed new signage to replace their existing signs. The client had a limited budget for their signage, so we found creative solutions and sourced cost-effective materials to meet their needs.

Luvia Petersen

Liquid Amber Tattoo & Art Collective

Working with Andrew was an absolute pleasure! He took meticulous steps to understand our business so that he could offer us a brand that really represented us. Business decisions are more streamlined now that we have a core branding identity. Since the rebrand, our business has grown exponentially. I'm certain we could not have achieved this much success without Andrews help!