Logo Design: Black Pearl Mercantile

Client: Black Pearl Mercantile

Role: Brand Designer / Visual Designer

Timeline: November

Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Figma, and Procreate

Project Summary

During this project, I designed a logo for a Black-owned, woman-run vintage and antique business. As BPM began expanding beyond in-store retail and building a presence on social media, they needed a recognizable logo that could support their growing brand across digital and physical spaces.

The Problem

Black Pearl Mercantile originally built its audience through vendor markets and word-of-mouth, but lacked a consistent visual identity to support growth beyond in-person sales. As the business expanded into social media and digital spaces, the absence of a recognizable logo made it difficult to establish brand recognition and maintain consistency across platforms.

Goals & Design Requirements

Create a logo that is:

Memorable
Versatile (print + digital)
Aligned with brand personality
Reflective of the owner

Research & Inspiration

To begin the design phase, I interviewed the client to get the feel of what BPM is to her. Afterwards, I created a mood board to have a visual idea of that feeling.

Somethings I discovered during the interview is how the black pearl itself, is from a keepsake her mother gave to her. It’s a beautiful black pearl necklace.

Seeing this inspired me greatly! I wanted to some how incorporate the necklace into the design.

Early Sketches

I used Procreate to create these quick sketches. The client really liked the two starred images. Given the time restraint, we decided to move forward with the logo on the right.

In the end I combined these images to make the final logo design. The times new roman was a classic touch and reminiscent of the “mercantile” stamps. On photoshop I made a threshold effect on the text as well, to give it that stamped, inky look.