Mucca founder and creative director Matteo Bologna has never been one to resign himself to the established visual norms of an industry—be it type design, editorial work or, in this case, fine jewelry.
So when purveyor Mary Margaret Beaver was ready to launch her own brand—in both physical form via a retail store and online—Mucca strayed from the clean, classic hallmarks of the category.
“She wanted to be known as a true confidant, not far removed from the people buying the pieces she curated,” Bologna says. “It was clear that she loved personally helping people find unique pieces that speak to them emotionally. She wanted to build a brand that reflected that point of view.”
First, they had to come up with a name—an arduous task in and of itself. After riffing and reflecting on keywords including love, passion and fertility, the team arrived at Tiny Gods—“a name designed to suggest a collection of something small but powerful, mysterious and eternal.”
“The name captures not only the spirit of what Mary Margaret was offering, but also how jewelry makes its wearers feel,” Mucca Design Director Andrea Brown says. “We applied this thinking throughout the entire brand, striking a balance between elegant luxury and something a little more ‘badass.’ Her collection is diverse with unusual pieces that are still very extravagant. Everything about the brand needed to be romantic without being sappy, and high-end without being stuffy.”
For the identity, Mucca pursued a logo that reflects the expressiveness of Beaver’s designs; geometric elements pay homage to gemstones, and “the brand language is poetically descriptive of the moment of discovering the piece that speaks to you, or of opening the box when it’s received as a gift,” Mucca details. “Also, since jewelry is such a personal choice, each piece includes an information card that gives the buyer some background about the materials and the designer, to make it feel more precious and intimate.”
On the whole, it’s a splendid departure from the expected—and a most welcome bit of design divination.
