Bramble — Brand Art Style Guide

Overview

Bramble is an online gathering space designed to feel imaginative, welcoming, and customizable. The goal of this project was to establish a distinct brand art style that balanced creativity and whimsy with the practical realities of a product-driven environment—specifically speed of production, scalability, and client customization.

As Art Director, I helped define the visual language for Bramble, guiding the creation of a flexible art style system that supported both world-building and efficient asset production.

Project Type

Brand Art Direction
Visual Systems
Asset Frameworks

Role

Art Director

Tools & Programs

Adobe InDesign

Deliverables

Art Style Guide
Concept Art
Asset Templates

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to the talented artists who helped bring these stories to life:

Lelia Woods, Greg Shrader, and Andy Estrada.

Project Objective

Create a visually distinctive art style for Bramble that set it apart from competitors while remaining efficient, scalable, and adaptable to user customization within the product.

PHASE 1

Defining the Style Goals

Art Style Goals

The foundation of the Bramble visual system was built around a clear set of goals:

  • Feel fresh, stylish, and distinct from competitors

  • Balance artistry with efficiency

  • Support seamless client customization

  • Inject whimsy, delight, and personality into the experience

  • These goals guided every design decision throughout the project.

PHASE 2

Style Inspiration & Visual Language

Blending Whimsy with Reality

The Bramble style draws from a combination of hand-drawn elements and photo collage, creating a world that feels grounded yet magical.

Visual Influences

  • Magical realism and surrealism

  • Hand-crafted illustration layered with photography

  • Collage techniques that elevate everyday environments

  • A sense of “better than reality” — spaces that feel imaginative and transportive

This approach allowed Bramble to feel playful and expressive while maintaining visual clarity.

PHASE 3

Concept Art & Style Definition

Defining the Rules of the World

Concept art played a critical role in shaping the Bramble aesthetic.

Concept Development Focus

  • Testing the balance between whimsy and usability

  • Establishing clear limitations and constraints

  • Refining art guidelines for asset creation

  • Ensuring consistency across environments and objects

This phase translated creative exploration into a usable, repeatable system.

PHASE 4

Customization & Modularity

Designing for Personalization

Customization is a core feature of Bramble, allowing users to make their virtual spaces feel personal and expressive.

Customization Strategy

  • Designed assets that could be easily swapped or layered

  • Embraced incongruity as a strength of the collage style

  • Ensured new elements could integrate seamlessly into existing environments

The visual system encouraged experimentation while maintaining cohesion.

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PHASE 5

Systems & Asset Templates

Building for Speed & Consistency

In collaboration with the level design team, we created a robust asset template system to support rapid production.

System Highlights

  • Stand-in assets defining size, orientation, and placement

  • Clear naming conventions for cross-team clarity

  • Templates that allowed art and level design to work in parallel

  • Improved speed, efficiency, and consistency across production

This system ensured the style could scale without sacrificing quality.

Results & Impact

  • A distinctive, memorable art style for Bramble

  • A scalable system supporting fast asset production

  • Seamless integration of client customizations

  • Strong collaboration between art and level design teams

  • A balance of delight, usability, and efficiency