Cowgirl
Grammar
From The Client
“Cara's approach to designing my website and brand was inspired, organized, and distinctive. Her ideas were fresh, and her strategy was well-established. It was clear from Cara's personable nature and detailed materials that she gives each project its own individual care, time, and attention. Working with her was entirely a pleasure - I couldn't be happier with my results!”
Shauna Andrews
cowgirl grammar
powell river, BC
Project SUMMARY:
Brand identity
CUSTOM SQUARESPACE 7.1 WEBSITE
Social media
About the Business
Cowgirl Grammar is edgy, powerful, bold, confident, offbeat, and professional. The owner, Shauna Andrews, is a talented content writer and editor with an obsession for perfectly curated compositions and a dedication to editing with fine-tuned precision. Together, we created the look and feel of Cowgirl Grammar to represent some badass feminine energy, combined with confidence and professionalism.
Goals
It all started with questions and conversations, which led to in-depth research and establishing the right strategy and direction. Finished with a bold new brand identity, Cowgirl Grammar is complete with a fully customized Squarespace 7.1 website, and a personalized Instagram profile with a catalog of editable templates.
Project Details
BRANDING
With deep reflection on company goals, establishing business positioning, researching the market, competitor analysis, and identifying the target audience of Cowgirl Grammar, we built a solid foundation for the design direction.
This design direction, combined with inspiration gathering, vision boarding, and branding buzzwords, paved the way for a new comprehensive Brand Guide.
We wanted Cowgirl Grammar to be distinct — to stand out from the rest, be authentic and unexpected, and make a memorable impact. Visual inspiration included The Powerhouse Cowgirl and Old Western Charm, complete with a balance of polished professionalism, imperfection, and aged distress.
The brand colours are a collection of softened desert neutrals, spiked with an intense red accent colour, like that of a classic red Bic pen used when editing a paper.
The fonts range from rustic western flare (without being too over-the-top), to a bold antique newspaper headline, to a classic, book-like serif paragraph text.
However, the star is most definitely the cowgirl graphic. She’s mysterious, cunning, independent, and intriguing. Her hair has a big classic pin-up flow, her hat is imperfect and well-worn, and is she naked? That’s for you to decide.
Lastly, we added graphic elements. A skull, cowgirl boot, cowgirl hat, a horseshoe, the CG monogram, and the tagline — Wildly Precise. All logos have a stamp-like feel with the perfect amount of distress.
Customized Squarespace 7.1 website
The main goals set out for the website were to create a space that highlights who Cowgirl Grammar is, what she can offer, what she can do, her experience and credentials, and how to easily get in touch.
Using the right words, visuals, and overall design layout, we wanted to shine a spotlight on how Shauna’s unique style and skill set make her an asset to any copywriting or editing project. We used powerful statement sections and colourful graphic elements to keep things fun.
Visually, we wanted to build the site to resemble an old-timey newspaper. The site title is displayed dramatically, like a front-page header, and an unconventional navigation that structures the page into article sections. A creased newspaper backdrop and some stamp-like headers make this digital experience feel a bit more like you’re reading the old-fashioned way — ink on paper.
This website is one-of-a-kind, much like Cowgirl Grammar herself. While a ton of coding customizations went into this project, it doesn’t affect the ease of editing and maintenance. With a few simple training tutorials, Shauna was able to access everything she needed to make updates to the content and upload new articles to her blog.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Since Cowgirl Grammar didn’t yet exist in the Social Media world, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to plan out a style guide that kept the look in line with the brand, and create a catalog of templates that made posting quick and easy. The goal was to use the platform to cultivate a following that would lead to relationships, networking, and ultimately, some great opportunities.
The Instagram profile was designed to highlight the brand elements, while effectively displaying who and what Cowgirl Grammar is, immediately capturing the attention of potential followers.
After creating a content plan, we carefully curated designs into a profile grid, providing a stacked lineup of ready-to-go feed and story posts, and a selection of editable templates that make posting easy!
