Sotela
Infusing a sustainable clothing brand with personality and confidence
Brand Strategy / Visual Identity / Shopify Web Design & Development — Los Angeles, California
Brand Evolution
Where Sotela Began…
We first worked with Sotela in 2018. At the time, they were focused on clothing + community for women, specifically women’s changing bodies before and after pregnancy. The garments Sotela made were beautiful, but lighter, more minimal, and more feminine. They’d just doubled their size range, and wanted that to be the driving force of their company.
Where Sotela Is Headed…
Over time, Sotela has grown up, and with that, grown into itself. They’ve introduced patterns and brighter colors and want to lean into the Latina roots of the company and infuse more personality into the brand as a whole. In addition to a wide size range, Sotela also offers customization on all their pieces, and we wanted to make sure customization and brighter colors were represented well through the refreshed visual brand.
Brand Keywords
Custom — Relatable — Confident — Bold — Unique
Brand Values
Diversity — Inclusivity — Transparency
Target Audience
Sotela’s target audience is primarily creative entrepreneurs in their early 30’s. They want to wear clothing that takes them day to night. They like to garden, drink iced lattes and thrift shop and they value quality items that take time to make. They don’t believe in sacrificing comfort for beauty and think they can have both. They appreciate tailor made clothing that fits their body in all their uniqueness and most importantly, they’re comfortable in their own skin. Like the brand, they have prioritized more basic and minimal clothing in the past, but they’re eager to include more color, texture, and pattern in their lives. They’re hard-workers, but value a mindful pace of life, spending time doing things they love with people they love and they love wardrobe pieces that can fluctuate with their lifestyle.
Visual Rationale
Sotela’s primary logo is crafted from a strong, contrasted display sans typeface. It’s the grown-up version of Sotela— Sotela out of it’s comfort zone, if you will. The reverse contrast showcase different types of people and bodies and is an ode to the customization you put into each garment. The sharpness gives the brand that humble edge that it was missing speaking to the honest relatability the brand represents. The mark is a geometric interpretation of “Sotela”, literally spelling out the brand name in subtle shapes. Additionally, it’s a visual representation of the art of sewing and a tangible puzzle of the diversity represented in their customers. Together, each piece makes a beautiful product, like the Sotela clothing and community.
