G.CULTURE: African Streetwear Promoting Cultural Travel

Situation: Creating Brand Identity for African Streetwear Startup

G.CULTURE is a startup streetwear company infusing African cloth print into their streetwear clothing designs that promote travel and enjoyment of other cultures.

The brand features apparel branding inspired by African and diaspora cultures. Focusing on travel as a means of learning about cultures, G.Culture promotes free-spiritedness and freedom.

The streetwear market is valued at over $175 billion worldwide, with hundreds of startup brands competing for attention. G.CULTURE needed a brand identity that would set them apart from competitors while connecting to African roots.

Task: Create Modern Design with African Roots

The client came to Spellbrand with a simple requirement – create an iconic logo design and brand identity that would look modern, slick, and still tie back to the African roots. The challenge required:

• Modern design: Create modern, slick logo design
• African roots: Brand identity that ties back to African roots
• Cultural connection: Visual identity that connects to African and diaspora cultures
• Streetwear appeal: Brand that appeals to streetwear market
• Market differentiation: Brand that sets apart from $175 billion streetwear market competitors

Action: Strategic Brand Development

Brand Strategy: Researching Adinkra Symbols

We started the process of discovery for this client by researching Adinkra symbols which are ubiquitous in Ghana, a beautiful West African country on the Atlantic, situated between Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. On cloth and walls, in pottery and art, these Asante tribe symbols can be found everywhere.

This brand strategy:

• Researches Adinkra: Researched Adinkra symbols from Ghana
• Ensures authenticity: Asante tribe symbols found everywhere in Ghana
• Connects culturally: Connects to African and diaspora cultures
• Creates modern design: Iconic logo design that looks modern and slick
• Ties to roots: Ties back to African roots

Logo Design: G and C with Adinkra Symbols

We then created a primary logo design with the company initials G and C enclosed in a circle. The circle is broken on the top and bottom with two secondary icon symbols that we created. These symbols also form independent secondary brand marks to be used on package branding, on t-shirts, and more. We also created a beautiful brand pattern using Adinkra symbols.

We extended the primary logo and the official brand pattern into the Facebook cover image design to create a striking visual. Social media cover images are crucial in creating engagement with your target audience and your brand identity must be used to create a cohesive look.

This logo design:

• Creates primary logo: G and C initials enclosed in circle
• Breaks circle: Circle broken on top and bottom with secondary icon symbols
• Forms secondary marks: Independent secondary brand marks for package branding, t-shirts
• Uses brand pattern: Beautiful brand pattern using Adinkra symbols
• Extends to social media: Extended to Facebook cover image for striking visual
• Ensures cohesion: Brand identity creates cohesive look across touchpoints

The Streetwear Market: $175 Billion Opportunity

If you weren’t aware of this already, streetwear has taken over the fashion industry. Many people are still under the assumption that streetwear and urban wear are just niche markets within fashion. However, the fact of the matter is that the streetwear market is valued at over $80 billion in the United States and over $175 billion worldwide. Fashion shows, Instagram feeds, retail stores, online shops, and everything in between is absolutely full of street fashion. And there are no signs whatsoever that this upwards trend is changing direction anytime soon.

This growth in the market has prompted hundreds of start-up streetwear brands to make their way into the marketplace. And oftentimes, these small brands are solely working online, thanks to the explosion of digital marketing and the popularity of social media in the fashion world. But the questions come when these brands look to set themselves apart as unique fashion companies. How could they possibly set themselves apart from the competition?

Result: Brand Identity That Stands Out

The brand identity we created for G.CULTURE successfully sets them apart from competitors in the $175 billion streetwear market. The comprehensive brand transformation delivers:

Strategic Outcomes

• Modern design: Modern, slick logo design successfully created
• African roots: Brand identity successfully ties back to African roots
• Cultural connection: Visual identity successfully connects to African and diaspora cultures
• Streetwear appeal: Brand successfully appeals to streetwear market
• Market differentiation: Brand successfully sets apart from $175 billion streetwear market competitors
• Complete brand system: Primary logo, secondary marks, brand pattern, and social media create unified experience

Implementation Success

Today, G.CULTURE uses this comprehensive brand identity to attract customers who appreciate African cloth print in streetwear designs. The modern, slick logo design with Adinkra symbols ties back to African roots while appealing to the streetwear market, creating a strong and professional brand identity that helps them stand out from the many competitors they face. The brand successfully positions G.CULTURE as a startup streetwear company that promotes travel and enjoyment of other cultures, with a logo design that promotes them as an edgy and trendy streetwear brand with a simple and urban design that includes GC surrounded by a disjointed circle, creating a cohesive look across all touchpoints from package branding to t-shirts to social media.