True Bias
Modernizing the trade of home sewing patterns (and launching a custom wholesale interface that brought in five figures in five days)
Design Intensive / Shopify Web Design & Web Development — Denver, Colorado
Brand Evolution
Where True Bias Began…
Kelli, the founder of True Bias, started her business 8 years ago. All that was available to her was a simple online store on Big Cartel. There was little personalization and no strategy behind the brand. But there was a fantastic product that people wanted: modern sewing patterns that home sewists could use to make their own clothing. The business exploded and Kelli was ready to have her own corner of the internet that represented the quality of her work.
Where True Bias Is Headed…
Making your own clothing might be rare, but it’s certainly not a lost art. True Bias takes into account that us humans come in all shapes and sizes and creates patterns that everyone can feel at home in. Because of the inclusivity of the brand, we wanted to make sure that the website visitors also felt at home on the site. We used patterns to mirror the very nature of what True Bias creates, but kept the design straightforward and minimal, just like the clothes the sewists are after.
Brand Keywords
Modern — Inclusive — Approachable — Wearable — Refined
Target Audience
Samantha, 36, likes fashion and loves to create. She has multiple handmade hobbies such as knitting, interior design, gardening, pottery, etc ... She is not a total newbie and knows her way around a sewing machine. She loves taking on new projects that teach her new skills. She wants fashionable yet wearable clothing, but has never found patterns that fit her fashion aesthetic.
She prefers natural fibers such as linen, and cotton and wears solids more than prints—especially neutral colors. Though she feels confident she could make her own clothing, she wouldn’t mind a product that is half pattern/half tutorial. She loves the pride that comes along with making her own clothes as well as the flexibility of creating something perfectly tailored to her body.
Visual Rationale
We wanted a logo that spoke to the exacting nature of sewist, as well as something simple and modern. We wanted the logo to reflect the design of the patterns and clothing they could create, immediately communicating a “Oh, this is my style!” feeling when a visitor lands on the site.
Though the clothing is homemade, it looks high-end and modern. The website needed to have the same feel. Doable, wearable, livable clothing that looks like you bought it at a fancy boutique.
The color story is a direct reflection of the target audience’s homes and wardrobes. Moody, neutral, and versatile.
If you’ve made it this deep into our site, you probably already know that collaboration is our favorite. This project was a team effort with the help of the Kait Studio team on Shopify website development.