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unapologetically color-and-shape-fueled home goods and textiles

Cat Schmitz

A Brand Identity Made of Comfort Objectives for Grownups

CHALLENGE

Cat Schmitz (the person) has designed for billion-dollar brands. We first met her as a leader on a project for Verizon. So when it came to starting her line of textiles and comfort objects — Cat Schmitz (the brand) — she tasked someone she trusted (us) with figuring out one of life’s most perplexing mysteries: how does one turn a personal design philosophy into a brand?

SOLUTION

The World of Cat. Inspiring but not out-of-reach. Thoughtful, but not too-cool. Bold and bright, but not toxically positive. In short, we leaned into the authentic heart of Cat’s design instincts through branding and web work that would welcome patrons into her world. It’s a place where everyone’s invited, and there’s really only one rule: if you feel it, follow it.

SERVICES

brand strategy

identity system design

web design

web development

video

photography

“A clear vision, crisp branding, and a look and feel that clearly communicates potential—that is the value that Paradowski provided.”

- Cat Schmitz

HOW IT HAPPENED

During a strategic intake session, we dug deep into what it is that makes Cat tick. And what we found was… well, all the squiggly, gooey human stuff that makes most of us tick. But in a more unapologetic, cozy, comfy, uninhibited way.

She already had an embarrassment of riches on her side: a loyal following, a slew of sales, and a studio filled with unabashedly joyful prints and patterns just begging to be photographed.

So Cat asked us to take a look from the outside and dial in on what the Cat Schmitz brand could and should be — what product lines to include, when to release each rollout, and how to present herself to the world.

Cat is used to wearing a lot of hats—or answering a lot of phones—for her namesake brand.

LEFT: Cat Schmitz the human. RIGHT: Cat Schmitz the brand. You see the resemblance, right?

We visited many alternate-universe versions of The World Of Cat in our exploration.

We played around and got goofy for an in-studio photoshoot, merging our team with some of Cat’s closest compadres, Then we all went and did karaoke. Because karaoke, like Cat Schmitz, is about loudly expressing your feelings and letting everybody see what a well of weirdness you have inside of you.

Bringing the world of Paradowski to New York, and bringing The World of Cat to life.

Big feelings, tiny worlds: Cat Schmitz makes space for all of it.

We ended up with a website — and also a brand foundation, social media assets, a logo, a media kit, a slew of vibrant photos and shape treatments, and incredibly full hearts.

Cat’s new website is as much fun, with as many wiggly shapes, and as many unexpected surprises as we could possibly cram into a single URL. She thanked us for bringing our whole selves to the work. And we thanked Cat for making the kind of space where we could do that.