Brand Identity for a Curated Vinyl and Audio Shop
Can a naive line make high-end audio feel accessible?
Gretel developed the brand identity for Finer Sounds, a vinyl and audio goods shop located at Ace Hotel Brooklyn. The identity balances accessibility and aspiration, using a naive, hand-drawn aesthetic to evoke the charm of early creative sketches. The result is a warm, inviting brand that feels approachable yet refined.
Set in Ivory Mono
Insights
- Gretel built the identity for Finer Sounds, a curated vinyl + audio goods shop launched inside Ace Hotel Brooklyn, designed to feel “inviting, friendly, and warm” rather than elite or intimidating.
- The core visual move is a “naive line” with an intentionally unrefined, hand-drawn language—described as “a charmingly awkward mix of accessible and aspirational,” like an early sketch or “rough draft of something ‘fancy’.”
- Gretel’s team explicitly referenced youthful doodles: imagining what they “might have doodled in a notebook” if asked to illustrate “the finer things,” aiming for marks that feel “sketched with a Pilot Felt Tip pen.”
- The brand strategy mirrors the retail strategy: curation over clutter. Finer Sounds promises “a few well-chosen and thoroughly vetted recommendations” so customers aren’t overwhelmed by choice or limited to audiophile-tier gatekeeping.
- Process detail: Gretel opened the first round to the whole studio, presenting David Azzoni and Shota Iyobe with all 11 identity routes while the shop’s name, offering, and location were still being finalized; the system was also designed to scale into merch, limited edition pressings, and a broader digital footprint.
- Gretel Draws Finer Sounds Identity By Hand With A Felt Tip Pen — the-brandidentity.com
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