As part of the branding aspect of the Communication Design curriculum, I was tasked with designing an identity system for a paint brand of my own creation. While the clearest route may have been to choose to create a company for interior or exterior wall paint, I chose to involve something I was passionate about, which was equity in the world of professional dance.

Corps de Couleur, French for “body of color,” echoes the dance term “corps de ballet” referencing a larger group of dancers on stage. From this name, the idea of this brand was to create a paint for dancers who needed the color of their shoes to match their skin tone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to buy them in the correct shade. The solution was to create an alcohol based paint that could be applied to leather, canvas and satin shoes without compromising the finish or strength of the shoe or floor the dancer performs on. The collection was expanded to include a range of more bright, vivid colors designed to be used for theatrical costumes as well. The visual brand language is designed to feel gender neutral with natural shades of green and beige, while maintaining the simple, regal nature of the art of ballet. As the marketing model of this brand evolved, it became evident that if these paints were intended to match skin tones and be sold online, it would be necessary to create an online quiz to help match dancers to their closest paint shade to minimize the need to return ill-matched products. This quiz was developed from research of both a variety of makeup brand’s foundation matching services, as well as personal experience with considerations such as how the type of tights a dancer wears can alter the necessary shade for a seamless look. Creating Corps De Couleur was an excellent opportunity to bring my dance experience of well over a decade into my passion of design and inspired me to create and innovate an entire ecosystem across multiple platforms and media.