An exciting new project for Hand Drawn Creative. Creating a Corporate Identity, Brand Guidelines and more to help launch a charity foundation, celebrating the legacy of Allee Willis, one of Hollywood’s most prolific songwriters.
Summer 2022 officially exploded for Hand Drawn Creative when Los Angeles based Artist Hillary Carlip got in touch, looking to create a brand identity for a Songwriters’ retreat/foundation in North Hollywood. The Foundation was to be based in the home of her recently deceased friend Allee Willis. Two things soon came to light; it turns out Allee wasn’t just anybody, and her Hollywood home was very far from ordinary!
Allee was a Grammy/Tony/Emmy/Webby winning songwriter, celebrated for co-writing hit songs September, Boogie Wonderland, the Friends theme song and more. She was also the co-composer and lyricist for the stage production of The Color Purple. Allee Willis’ compositions have sold over 60 million records, and in 2018, just a year before her untimely passing, she was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. Truly a renaissance woman, Allee’s work spanned many disciplines including multi-media art, performance, technology, and renowned party throwing/salon hosting. The Washington Post once dubbed Allee
“The most interesting woman you’ve never heard of.”
Take a look at this CBS feature celebrating Allee's life.
Allee’s distinctive home was purchased with earnings from her first royalty check for Boogie Wonderland. Originally built In 1937, it was rumoured to be the party house for MGM Studios in North Hollywood. Filled with one of the largest collections of pop culture memorabilia in the world, it’s a space that glorifies and inspires creativity.
Allee Willis reclines in her home studio in Los Angeles…
Allee Willis' unique Hollywood home will become the centre of the Willis Wonderland Foundation
What else could we name the Foundation but Willis Wonderland! Art Director Hillary approached Hand Drawn Creative based entirely on the quality of our 60’s Americana / mid-century flavoured illustration. Given the subject and location, this seemed like a match made in Graphic Arts heaven! Allee's signature home would feature strongly, acting as the logo marque in the corporate identity. For the logotype, House Industries' Las Vegas font proved invaluable. Mid-century pinks and turquoises came into play to create a playful California feel.
Willis Wonderland logo in portrait, landscape and roundel format
The Willis Wonderland brand and ethos has been designed to reflect Allee’s wit, love of kitsch and mid-century design and her extraordinary creative style. Together, Hillary and Hand Drawn Creative worked to design the Willis Wonderland Foundation corporate identity, moving on to create the Brand Guidelines document. We then progressed to design Save the Date invitations and flyposters for Willis Wonderland’s official launch event (unsurprisingly, to be held on the 21st night of September) The icing on the cake was the design of a customised paper doll cutout book for the Foundation’s launch event (hosted by RuPaul with appearances from Lily Tomlin Paul Reubens and other bona fide Hollywood celebrities). This definitely counts as one of the most exciting briefs Hand Drawn Creative has ever worked on!
A few pages from the Willis Wonderland Brand Guidelines…
All in all, this has been one of Hand Drawn Creative’s most enjoyable and most high profile creative projects in recent years.
Bear in mind we're based in a garden studio in suburban Northern Ireland, so glitzy Hollywood jobs like this don’t come around very often. So when they do, you better believe we’re going to let people know about it!
Bear in mind we're based in a garden studio in suburban Northern Ireland, so glitzy Hollywood jobs like this don’t come around very often. So when they do, you better believe we’re going to let people know about it!
Willis Wonderland Save the Date Design and Launch Event Poster design…
Willis Wonderland Cut-out Paper Doll Book Design, created for the Willis Wonderland Launch Event…
