Opaque - Designing the Total Package

You know that real giddy feeling you used to get when you saw your crush in junior high, or Christmas morning when Santa came. Well that feeling always seems to creep up on me when I get to design for a new client. I get really excited about creating a new identity and helping someone reach his or her goals. Often I find that those clients are the most enthusiastic as well, because they usually have a vision and just need help making that a reality. With Opaque, it was similar to that type of client, but for once, I was the client. I was designing for myself. So not only did I have that “client vision” but that designer giddiness. Opaque started off mearly as a unique “craft/art store”, but I wanted to some how give it a twist. I had no name, no location, no products, just a passion for that type of environment.

It all started around Christmas, I was in Denver, CO visiting my cousin who is studying music technology at a citchy college downtown. She lived in a less than safe part of town, but lived rather near the Art Mecca. We were walking distance from bars with live bands every night, and galleries during the day. One afternoon we walked into this store that peaked my interest called “Fancy Tiger.” It was mostly a sewing/quilt shop with fabric you couldn’t get at JoAnne’s or Hobby Lobby, but they also had hand spun yarn and various other “homemade” items. The store was urban, homemade, vintage cottage if you could imagine that. I loved that atmosphere, but I felt like something was missing. I figured out quickly that I wanted an art boutique with an urban flair, but couldn’t quite figure out what that meant yet.

Months later, many brainstorms and lots of talking to friends and family I finally had a name. Opaque was born. This store or experience as I would rather put it was going to change the way artists and designers shop. This would have a hometown vibe, with a bit of urban flair, but mostly a green attitude. Don’t get me wrong, big companies always ruled that community and they are often still who I turn to, but I liked the idea of honoring a choice. Why do these little shops, like Creative Coldsnow have to carry large brands like Dick Blick. Why can’t these little shops have their own identities? I wanted a shop to be able to serve their customers but with store branded items. So it turned into a product line that was chalk full of items that are refillable, recyclable, or use the least amount of packaging possible. Opaque carried paint, markers, colored pencils, all the way down to paper and canvas.

I got down to the nitty gritty, with everything from a logo and logo guide, to uniforms for people who worked there. For now it is just a product line, that is merely a dream of one day existing. But maybe one day, with enough capital, and a few investors, this dream can really come to fruition.