MODULAR BRAND IDENTITY
FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGN & STRATEGY (2025)
FRED BAKERY
Inspired by the world's greatest opera houses, Fred is a modular brand identity designed to expand from a single starting point.
CONFUSE TO AMUSE
"Fred" is not a person, but a sourdough starter. We chose to name the business after it because it's simple and, in this case, unexpected. Any confusion caused by this situation will likely be followed by cherished laughter, creating a memorable experience.
THE INSPIRATION
Our biggest visual reference wasn't a trendy restaurant, but London's Royal Opera House, since the owner of Fred Bakery is a young woman who loves ballet. The cherished British institution went through a rebranding in 2025 and now uses a logo that combines modern typography with a crest full of history and symbolism.
TRADITION & HERITAGE
Lion & Unicorn symbolize the Union of England & Scotland.
MODERN & BOLD
Font creates contrast, making the composition more youthful.
A STORY WORTH TELLING
Founded in 1931, the Vic-Wells Ballet had its theatre bombed by the Nazis in 1940, forcing the company to take the show on the road. In the following years, they became a symbol of resistance as they performed for Allied troops across Europe, dancing in freezing aircraft hangars, under bomb fire, and once narrowly escaping the Nazi invasion of The Hague. After the war, the company gained a residency at the Royal Opera House, where it still performs to this day as “The Royal Ballet.”
A CREST WITHOUT A PAST
Royal Ballet's crest exists to condense decades of tradition into a single symbol. Fred Bakery, however, never donated muffins to Allied troops in Belgium: it's a new company with its story still unfolding. Therefore, we decided to invert the classic role of the crest: instead of symbolizing a past, it's designed as a starting point.
NOT A LOGO
This insignia, which mirrors Royal Ballet's logo and colors, won't be used on the day-to-day of the business. Instead, it's the foundation of a system. It directly references its main inspiration and sets boundaries: color, motifs, typography, style. This foundation is meant to be broken apart, simplified, and reassembled into more practical expressions, creating a variety of logos, labels, and other assets. The result is a modular visual identity that allows variation without losing recognition, since everything ties back to a single visual heritage: the crest.
THE UNFOLDING BEGINS
BREAKING ELEMENTS APART
FIRST SET OF LOGO VARIATIONS
General-purpose logos for digital and physical branded materials
that can easily personalize product shots or packaging
ICONS BECOME STICKERS
THE CENTRAL PATTERN
The yeast-bubble pattern from the crest becomes a label for Fred's Cookies, creating an aesthetic reference: stylized close-up reconstructions of food seen from a bird's eye perspective. Following this visual language, we created more patterns to showcase different product categories.
NEW LABEL SYSTEM
By cropping the patterns from product labels, we create a new collection of assets: slits showing product sneak peaks. These illustrations can be used alone or combined with the typographic section of the insignia, serving as brand logos.
SECOND SET OF LOGO VARIATIONS
VISUAL SUMMARY
