Visual brand book Ella Josey
Word Count 1,380
Contents 1. Who we are 2. Our story 3. Our girl 4. Positioning 5. Our Mission 6. Our Logo 7. Fp Inspiration 8. Charity work 9. FP me 10. The FP consumer 11. Store layout 12. social media
1.
Free People Free People believes freedom and expression. We're more than simply a clothing brand, we're a lifestyle brand. We want to connect with our customers and share our journey through life with them.
The Free People lifestyle is one of adventure and love, we want to bring free spirited women together in a community - sharing our love of clothing and style. We aim to offer women clothes that they'll love, to express themselves freely to the world.
In the 70's and in west Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, our guy Dick Haynes opened a store for the people. The store was about expression and freedom of choice with clothes. He named us 'Free People'...
Dick's store grew popluar, and when he came to open his second shiny new store he re-named the stores Urban outfitters Dick, alongside his partner Meg, created a wholesale line for the brand. This being highly successful, our sweet Meg gave the brand many personalities, Anthropologie, cooperative Ecote and Bulldog...
2.
Dick's once tiny seed of a brand grew and flourished and with his success so in 1984 he breathed new life into what used to be his first little shop 'Free People'. That's us. As time passed, Free people started to become a little sister brand to Urban Outfitters, offering clothes to younger, teen girls. But in 2001, we captured and remembered Free People's roots. We realised that Free People stood for what we believed women represent the most; Spirit, Courage, and femininity. We loved what Free People stood for. It was time for Free People to truly come alive.
In 2002 in New Jersey, USA we opened our first newly branded Free People store. It was cosy yet rugged, unique yet intimate. Our customers loved it.... Now in 2016 we have stores all over the US and Canada, we sell and ship worldwide via our shiny e-commerce site, and our line sells in 1,400 specialty stores worldwide. Free People is still beautifully growing.
Today we operate under the URBN conglomerate, our sisters; Urban Outfitters, Anthroplogie and The Venti brothers.
Our girl 'She is intelligent, creative, confident. She pushes the limits. She is a strong spirit, guided by the beat of her own drum. As feminine as she is cool. There is not another one like her.'- URBN.com, 2016 urban outfitters inc.
3.
Our Positioning We sit tight and happy in a middle market between designer luxe and high street fashion. We like to please everyone, so our girls can expect pay the varied range from ÂŁ70 to ÂŁ300 on one of our unique designs. Due to our free spirited, gypsy girl style and nature, we operate in a beautifully niche market. However there are a few others like us with similar style and pricing... For love and lemons, the Lingerie and lace clothing brand. And Spell and the Gypsy collective clothing and accesssorY brand. And Planet blue, American born boho style brand.
4.
5.
Our Mission 'Lifestyle merchandising is our business and our passion. The goal for our brands is to build a strong emotional bond with the customer. To do this we must build lifestyle environments that appeal emotionally, and offer fashion correct products on a timely basis. Our customers are the reason and the inspiration for everything we do.'- URBN.com 2016, Urban Outfitters inc. Our Values At Free People we value freedom of voice and expression. We believe our customers have voices to be heard, and we want to listen. We think that expression with clothes is imperative to creating identity and we aim to do offer this to everyone, by selling clothes that don't break the bank. Our Vision To expand into the global market, starting with the UK and China, with a physical store presence
6.
Logo Design All our fonts and logos are hand drawn and hand made. We recently changed our logo from its original font to one that we feel suits us just a little bit better. The font is more relaxed and casual, like us, and it's not as tightly bound or stiff, which represents the freedom of choice we believe our customers should have.
7.
Here at free people we believe in giving back to the people....
ACHIEVEability ACHIEVEability is a charity who offer help with the education and housing of families living under the poverty line. We have been aiding them do their amazing work since 2008 In just one year, our generous employees gave away or bought 650 backpacks complete with educational equipment, these backpacks amounted to $14,000!!!
8.
Alex's Lemonade Stand Alex's Lemonade Stand is a charity who raise money for children suffering with cancer. When Alex Scott sadly died aged 8, his parents set up the charity, aiming to raise money to find a cure, one cup of lemonade at a time. Every year, we arrange The Great Chef's event, in which Michelin star chef's provide our customers with edible goodies. In 2015 alone we raised $800,000
Children's Scholarship The children's scholarship programme enables kids from low income families to have equal opportunities and a bright future by sending them off to private school. Since 2006 we have helped the charity send 6,000 children to 170 different private schools. We believe that every child has the right to a proper education
FP ME FP me gives our consumers a chance to show us how they rock their own style and our clothing, they can create their own account via our blog, Tumblr and Instagram and upload their content to share with other Free People lovers, plus, if we love your style, we'll share it for all the world to see...
9.
FP GIRLS are inspired by five very different personalities. We personify our style and categorize our trends by making them relatable to our customers through our Free People girls. - URBN.com 2016, urban outfitters inc.
Candy's always feminine, she looks soft in pale, ethereal colours and she is almost always in lace. She is delicate but edgy, don't be fooled by her innocent appearance, this girl is feisty.
Sandy is the ultimate beach goddess. She lives and breathes nature. She is an effortless beauty. Her nonchalant attitude to life is reflected in her clothes, she dresses simply but beautifully.
10.
Lou is a city girl. She always goes after the boys. Her style is casual and effortless, you probably won't ever find her in a dress. She gives new life to the basic tee. She breathes urban into the city.
Meadow is a gypsy wanderer. She is the purest and freeist spirit. She loves to travel. She looks for inspiration in nature. She wears earthy colours and lose silhouettes. She is an explorer.
Ginger only comes out at night. She lives to party. She dresses to party. She is wickedly charming She always dresses to impress, her style is provocative yet sophisticated. She sets her own rules.
Our Stores Our store layouts and designs always feel cosy yet urban. We strip back paint and expose textures to create a raw, natural feel. All decorations in each of our stores are completely handmade, from fixtures to crocheted hangers We want our customers to feel at home in our stores, so we lay comfy bean bags and sofa's around so that they can put their feet up. Our stores are the main mode of connection that we share with our customers and the greatest chance to show them the inspiration behind our band and latest lines.
11.
Colour and Texture Here at Free People we are inspired by nature, we believe in natural beauty and think that raw and understated styling always looks best. That's why when we use colour throughout our stores, website and advertisements we use earthy, pale colours and textures. We love the idea of upcycling, and breathing life into old, timeless pieces, we believe that using items with a story behind them helps us bring real authenticity to our brand, and connect with our customers, which is our mission in life.
12.
Social Media We are extremely active on our social media. We believe in staying connected... FP Bldg 25 Our unique blog FP Bldg 25 has a worldwide following, it covers lifestyle, culture, travel, beauty fashion, and FP me. Our App With the recent launch of our shiny new mobile app, Customers can shop on the go between grabbing lunch with friends, or sitting on the tube. We aim to make it easier for our consumers to be inspired! Instagram We understand that our customers are obsessed with Instagram, and so are we. We post vibrant inspiring pictures of our clothes and our FP girls, we want our customers to have an immersive experience into our brand by looking through our Instagram page, we aim to inspire and to connect!