Butterfly Cove Inn is a client's project that requires branding materials. A side project included making door signs, which was done here. I used eight butterfly species and a similar illustration style to create the signs, and then finished by placing all of them on a decorative and informative poster to be put in the lobby of the inn. I provided the client with 8 colored PNGs of the signs themselves, a PNG of the 18x24 poster, and two mockups of the possible frame, sizing, and placement they could utilize in the future.

Butterfly Cove Signage

Roles
Print Designer, Illustrator

Programs
Illustrator, Photoshop

Timeline
February 2025 - March 2025

Process

I started by looking into butterfly species’ that had an interesting shape and color. The client asked for Monarch to be in there somewhere, and then wanted one that was blue. I found the blue butterfly, a Blue Morpho, pretty quickly. I then went through multiple insect sites to find butterflies that stuck out to me. I found three for the purposes of our first in-class critique (Malachite, Swallowtail, Admiral) along with Monarch and Blue Morpho, and then found the final three (Crimson Rose, Apollo, Glasswing) once I was set on a style.

Phase 1: Research

To build cohesion with the original logo, I started each room sign with the same ovular shape and Blithe Regular typeface. I curved the room names along the frame and began illustrating butterflies above them. My initial sketches were minimal, but I realized I needed more detail to distinguish each room. After researching visual references, I customized stock vector butterflies in Illustrator—adjusting perspective, simplifying lines, and using reference images for accuracy. Each butterfly was colored and styled to reflect its species, then paired with a cozy cream background to mimic painted wood signage.

Phase 2: Designing

Four illustrations of butterflies with text labels for rooms: Monarch Room with a monarch butterfly, Blue Morpho Room with a blue morpho butterfly, Admiral Room with an admiral butterfly, and Swallowtail Room with a swallowtail butterfly.

Illustrations of four butterflies labeled: Malachite Room, Glasswing Room, Apollo Room, and Crimson Rose Room, each with corresponding butterfly designs on oval backgrounds.

For the poster, I was inspired by art prints I’d seen on Pinterest and Urban Outfitters. I layered a pink rectangle over cream, added abstract lines pulled from the logo, and arranged the butterflies to look like they were fluttering around branches. The result feels organic and airy, with Beloved Sans used for clean labels and a grainy Photoshop texture added for warmth and vintage flair.

After in-class critique and edits from the client, I tweaked the kerning of the letters on the door signs and made the poster much more clean and simple with a light texture. Although I ended up changing the brand logo in the end, I thought the script font still fit the natural and cozy feel of the rooms, so I ended up keeping Blithe Regular. I used this as the final version, and the client gave me permission to publish it on my site.

Phase 3: Editing & Refining

Illustrations of four butterflies each labeled with a room name: Monarch Room, Blue Morpho Room, Admiral Room, and Swallowtail Room, set on an oval background.

Illustration of four oval room signs with butterfly images and names: Malachite Room, Glasswing Room, Apollo Room, Crimson Rose Room.

Illustrations of seven butterfly species labeled: Glasswing, Crimson Rose, Monarch, Swallowtail, Malachite, Admiral, Apollo, and Blue Morpho, with the title 'The Butterflies in Our Cove.'

Outcome

Wooden door with "Blue Morpho Room" sign starring a butterfly, surrounded by floral and bird-patterned wallpaper.

Poster titled 'The Butterflies in Our Cove' with images of different butterfly species, including Glasswing, Monarch, Crimson Rose, Swallowtail, Malachite, Apollo, Admiral, and Blue Morpho, mounted on a pink tiled wall next to green plant leaves.