Sweep

Inspired by the hand-painted process and sun-kissed results of their eco-friendly hair coloring technique, we created a brand identity for Sweep Balayage Bar that captures the salon’s chic yet playful attitude.

Balayage is a hair coloring technique invented in France and popularized in the 1970s. Balayage’s unique hand-painted process results in randomly placed swipes of color that have a more natural, “sun-kissed” appearance. This inherent quality gave way to the brand’s signature 70s-inspired sunrise motif which is integrated throughout the brand in the form of borders, badges, and illustrations.

The painting motif was extended to the brand illustrations and building signage. Instead of using conventional vinyl window graphics, we commissioned a local sign painter to hand paint the designs, resulting in a perfectly imperfect handmade aesthetic that mirrors the balayage process.

The brand’s primary typeface, Columbia Sans Display, has distinctive italics that harken back to 1970s-era heavy-bottom fonts (like Charade and Benguiat Charisma) and blend seamlessly with the brand’s retro-modern aesthetic. Body copy is set in Domaine Text, and Vulf Mono is used to round out the typographic hierarchy and add a touch of playfulness.