From a French-inspired personal styling brand to a Website in a Day
When the brand actually leaves the Illustrator artboard.
There’s a very specific point in a branding project that I love: when I start seeing the brand exist somewhere other than my computer.
Rachel REALLY did that with C’est Luxe.
We created a neutral, French-inspired identity for her personal styling business that felt elevated but still effortless and approachable. And when it came time for her brand shoot, she actually used the brand. The logo went on coffee cups. She printed larger branded pieces to use as props. Her outfits, locations, and styling all worked with the visual direction we had created.
So by the time we got to her Website in a Day, we weren’t starting with a logo and a folder full of headshots. We already had this whole little C’est Luxe world to work with.
Meet C’est Luxe
C’est Luxe is a personal styling business based in Boston, MA , built around helping people define their own style rather than telling them what they should be wearing.
From the beginning, we wanted the brand to have a subtle French influence. Something that felt chic and put together, but not overly precious or like it was trying too hard to be “luxury.”
That balance became a big part of the visual direction: mostly neutrals, beautiful typography, fashion-inspired illustrations, and little details that gave the brand personality without adding a ton of extra stuff.
The messaging followed that same idea with phrases like “Define Your Luxe,” “Your Style, Your Story,” and “Style Curated for You.”
Creating the Brand
One of my favorite parts of this identity is how the different logo variations work together.
The lowercase C’est Luxe logo has a softer, almost editorial quality to it. Then we paired it with a more structured, all-caps version that could hold its own in places where we wanted the brand to feel a little more established.
We also created a simple CL monogram and these tiny fashion illustrations that feel almost like sketches you’d find in an old fashion magazine.
Nothing is overly complicated. That was kind of the point.
The personality comes from how all of those pieces are paired together—the type, the illustrations, the warm brown and taupe palette, the photography, and the little French references throughout.
Then Rachel Took the Brand and Actually Used It
This is probably my favorite part of the entire project.
When Rachel planned her brand shoot, she didn’t stop at getting nice photos of herself. She thought about how C’est Luxe could actually show up in the photos.
She had the logo printed on a coffee cup. She created larger branded pieces that could become props. She incorporated the neutral palette into what she wore and how everything was styled. We ended up with portraits, details, close-ups, branded moments, and photos that felt like they belonged to C’est Luxe before I ever put them on the website.
And from a web designer’s perspective, this is SO helpful.
A great headshot is obviously useful, but there are only so many places I can put a photo of you smiling at the camera. Those little details give us so much more to work with. They can become backgrounds, section breaks, little visual moments between pieces of copy, or a photo that helps communicate the feeling of the business without needing to explain it.
Rachel’s shoot could probably be its own blog post because I have a LOT of thoughts about getting more useful photos for your website. But the short version: if you’ve invested in branding, bring it with you. Print things. Put your logo on something. Think beyond headshots. Give yourself details, close-ups, and little branded moments that you—or your designer—can actually use later.
From Brand Shoot to Website in a Day
Once we had the branding and photography, the next step was bringing everything together for Rachel’s Website in a Day.
A lot of what makes a Website in a Day work actually happens before the day itself. We plan out the site, get the content organized, make sure I have everything I need, and handle those bigger decisions ahead of time so I’m not spending half the design day waiting on a photo or figuring out what a page needs to say.
C’est Luxe was such a good example of why that prep matters.
We already knew exactly how the brand should feel. Rachel had a strong library of photography that worked with it. We had the typography, colors, logos, illustrations, and other little details ready to go.
So when website day came around, I could focus on actually building the site and figuring out how all of those pieces should work together on the page.
The Final Brand + Website
I love seeing this project all together because nothing feels like it was created in isolation.
The logo informed the brand shoot. The brand shoot gave us the photography for the website. The illustrations and typography gave me little details to pull into the site. And because everything was working from the same visual direction, the final website already felt like C’est Luxe.
It’s also a really good example of why I create more than one logo when I’m building a brand. Rachel has a full system she can actually use—the softer lowercase logo, the more structured all-caps version, the monogram, illustrations, typography, colors, and messaging—rather than trying to make one logo work everywhere.
Visit Cestluxe.com or Follow along on Instagram @cest.luxe
Final Thoughts
There’s something really satisfying about seeing a brand make it all the way from the first concept to an actual coffee cup to a finished website.
Rachel did such a good job of taking what we created and carrying it into the rest of her business, especially her photoshoot. And it made the Website in a Day process that much better because we weren’t trying to create the visual world of C’est Luxe while I was building the site. It was already there.
If you’re planning a brand shoot soon, I may need to do a whole separate post about this because apparently I have more opinions about brand-shoot props than I realized.
And if you already have your branding, photos, and content and the website is the piece you keep putting off, you can learn more about my Website in a Day service here.