fst develops new brand strategy and identity for Paintclub

Social art experience, Paintclub, worked with branding and design agency fst to develop a new brand strategy and identity to capitalize on its pandemic digital pivot and global expansion.

Paintclub, is an event-based business where people of all levels of artistic ability are invited to pick up a paintbrush alongside friends or work colleagues, and spend a few hours painting. Due to the pandemic, all in-real-life experiences had to be pulled and switched to online classes and on-demand tutorials.

Paintclub’s founder and director, Aisling Kearney Burke, approached fst because the business had outgrown both its existing identity and its tech stack. She wanted to address the brand, business and digital strategy, and redesign the brand identity and experience before embarking on a new phase of digital and global growth.

“We didn’t really have a full brand – just a logo, which was created when we launched in 2015. Our focus had always been on the Irish and UK markets, working out of our base in Galway. But Covid-19 changed everything. Where once Paintclub was all about in-real-life social and corporate events, suddenly we had a massive digital presence with customers in more than 35 countries. We needed a brand that could service that growth and take us into the future,” she says.

The identity uses graphic shapes to play with the idea of ‘framing’ a scene as one would a piece of art, while also creating a ‘window’ into the more artistic side of life. The variety in these framing devices aims to give the brand a liveliness and flexibility, allowing it to adapt depending on the image, occasion and mood.

The suite of assets has been developed to expand with the business as it grows. The new logo is formed by a clean sans serif font interspersed with characters from the original insignia, holding on to Paintclub’s existing brand equity while also offering differentiation. Those characters can also be found in abstract form across all touchpoints, including the website and social media, class materials, paint kits and merchandise. The colour palettes, consisting of five colours, was designed to keep everything lively and dynamic, without stealing attention from the art itself.

“We wanted to avoid the usual clichés – paintbrushes, palettes, French berets. Instead opting for a free and expressive design language that encourages creativity, while allowing flex and personalisation. It’s a mature identity that’s 100% ownable, and it gives Aisling a strong platform from which to fulfil her digital-first international aspirations,” says Charlie Butterfield, partner at fst.

fst’s brand strategy and design aims to give Paintclub the tools and brand presence it needs to pursue its mission to make art more accessible all over the world. Driven by its dedication to remove the barriers that surround putting brush to canvas, Paintclub’s new identity and platform seeks to empower people of all abilities and experience to create space and find the time to embrace their creativity through sociable art tutorials.