Meg’s is a tailoring service, established by Megan Kenny, that began as a single store on Garfield Street in 1995. Meg’s now has two locations in Auckland, New Zealand, provides a broad range of services; from hems to full garment design, and works on large projects with high-end designers and labels such as Hugo Boss, Prada and Gucci, and on smaller jobs from High Street drop-ins.

Megan Kenny has worked in Sydney and London, has decades of experience in dressmaking, fashion and interior design, and has built a team of tailors, seamstresses, designers and machinists, many of whom she has trained herself. Megan and her team are passionate and respectful and pride themselves on their attention to detail and customer care.

With the intention of better communicating the team’s ongoing ambition to deliver quality work and exceptional service, Megan worked with Auckland-based Studio South to evolve Meg’s brand identity and re-introduce it to the market in a fresh and contemporary way. This was achieved through universal motif and colour palette, the materiality of uncoated papers and glossy finishes, and a modern restraint. Alongside digital presence and art direction, Studio South also provided Meg’s Tailoring with a variety of printed assets, these included branded t-shirts and carrier bags, signage, decals and business cards.

Rather than a conventional logo Studio South draw distinction from the familiar but communicative motif of a button through its implementation; a mix of proportion, repetition and finish. Large window decals, animation online, varnish, large buttons across t-shirts and screen prints across clear plastic bags provides variety and secure memorability.

Much like motif, colour palette also plays with the universal. The combination of pink and grey, white and black gives a clear impression of a unisex service, skills in both classical and modern fashion, Meg’s urban location and the accessibility of its service. This also goes for the reductive and simplistic forms of the motif in conjunction with the ornament of a serif logotype, and the duality of art direction.

Paper choice and print finish add a layer of materiality to identity, well-suited to a business working with garments. These are subtle, appearing like an appropriate expression of seamless alteration and professionalism, and not the individual style or personality of Megan or her team. They do, however, alongside colour and form, contribute to and culminate in a discernible and identifiable visual character, and in their simplicity manage to move between the accessible and the exclusive.

Each graphic and material asset is well-weighted. There is a simplicity but intent to the work. Individually choices are far familiar, some ubiquitous, however, their combination is distinctive, and retains all of their communicative value. Studio South’s work for Meg’s, is confident in its implementation, generous in its use of space, and restrained in its use of type and image. Also check out their work for The International.

Other neat details include the animation of the buttons as you scroll through Meg’s website site, the clear plastic bag that places motif over the colour, texture and detail of tailored garment, the contrast of uncoated paper and glossy finish, and the continuity of brand identity in print and the way that this continues online. More from Studio South on BP&O.

Design: Studio South. Opinion: Richard Baird. Fonts Used: Post Grotesk.

Material & Print Specifications:

Stationery:
Business Card: Pearl Foil & PMS Black 6 on Fedrigoni Splendorgel 400gsm
A6 Service Cards: Various PMS & pearl, black & clear gloss foils on Fedrigoni Splendorgel 400gsm

Signage:
Window Decal: Matte white vinyl
Logo Signs: 40mm acrylic letters, painted satin black

Bags:
Clear bags, printed opaque white and black

Tees:
White screen print