Small Business Character Design
A Pinch of Pepper is a local tea and spicery founded by Emily, a passionate and community-driven entrepreneur with lots of flair! Starting out at markets and pop-ups, Emily quickly built a loyal following, eventually opening up her own brick-and-mortar space in my vibrant downtown where she hosts cooking classes and community events.
The heart of the brand is inspired by Emily’s rescue pup, Pepper, who inspired her to chase her dream. To bring that spirit to life, Emily wanted a custom avatar that featured both herself and Pepper. A character design that would give her brand extra personality across various media.
Project Objectives:
The key objectives for the avatar design included:
- Create versatile, memorable avatars that reflect the brand’s friendly and energetic vibe.
- Capture Emily and Pepper’s likeness in a simplified, playful style adaptable to both digital and print.
- Design three avatar variation: Emily & Pepper together (main), Emily solo, and Pepper solo.
- Deliver multiple formats with both transparent and colored backgrounds for flexible use.
Approach
As both a designer and customer of Pinch, I already had a good feel for the brand’s warmth and community-first personality. To kick things off, Emily shared the story behind Pepper and sent over loads of reference photos. These not only helped me capture the likenesses but gave me insight into the joyful, approachable tone she wanted.
From there, I began sketching, focusing on playful, clean lines that could scale easily without losing detail. After a one round of revisions based on Emily’s feedback, we landed on a final set of avatar’s that felt personal, vibrant, and unmistakably A Pinch of Pepper.
Challenges
- Balancing playful character design with professional polish suitable for a growing storefront business.
- Capturing recognizable likenesses in a simplified style that felt instantly recognizable.
- Ensuring scalability and clarity across everything from tiny instagram icons to larger print uses.
- Managing detail levels to keep designs clean but expressive.
Deliverables
- Custom set of illustrated avatars
- Multiple file formats for print and web use
Results
- Emily was thrilled with the final avatars, quickly rolling out the new look across her Instagram and business materials. The characters have added a friendly, personal touch to the Pinch brand, creating a fun, cohesive identity that connects with both longtime customers and new visitors.
jaipowell.com 