When my uber-talented friend, Kate Woodrow approached me this spring about working on a logo and branding for her new literary agency and creative consultancy, Present Perfect Dept., I was completely thrilled. Before starting Present Perfect Dept. this year, Kate was a Senior Editor at Chronicle Books. She has an incredible knack for working with artists and illustrators to help them achieve their goals, and make their creative dreams come true. She does it all with a genuine spirit of collaboration, while staying truly engaged in helping artists refine and expand their ideas, or, as she says, making “good ideas get great.” You can read more about her and see her incredible portfolio of past work HERE. 

When we sat down to discuss Kate’s vision for her brand, words such “friendly,” “approachable,” “polished,” and “creative” came up in conversation. She knew she wanted a clean, classic mark in combination with more colorful, playful watercolor illustrations to adorn her website. My first round of drawings for her included twelve versions of hand-lettered logos, and twelve illustrated patterns. I had fun refining the work, as each step brought us closer to representing the brand that she would put forth into the world. I’m so proud of Kate for having the guts to go out on her own to pursue this work, and excited to see her passion and expertise flourish in this new context. And, of course, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with her on one step of that new beginning.

Have a look below at Present Perfect Dept.’s hand-lettered logo, color palette, and more.

The final logo shown in black

The final color palette for PPD’s overall branding

PPD’s website landing page incorporating the logo and watercolor wash

Watercolor pattern illustrations used throughout the site

  And finally, the logo and illustrations on the website.