Branding + Illustration at Rent The Runway
2025 Senior Digital Designer + Illustrator
Rent the Runway, a fashion rental company, is for women with full lives who need fuller closets. More options, more possibility, more for whatever comes next. For the 2025 brand refresh, this team built a brand language rooted in authenticity and energy, designed to speak to the multifaceted women we serve. My role focused on defining dynamic typography and producing all illustration.
Illustration Note:
Acting as the in-house illustrator, I’ve hand-drawn all brand illustrations to visually speak the “RTR language”—which can be described as unique, ambitious, and never too serious.
The RTR internal brand book outlines type treatment, color palette, illustration usage, visual elements, photo usage, tone of voice, animation styles, and defines brand values, of course. All-encompasing and thoroughly thought out.
On the brand refresh team, I led all of typography.
Martina Plantijin is a legacy typeface for RTR, decidedly kept in the refreshed branding to capitalize on the equity its earned the brand over the years; ownable in other words. The decision to introduce GT America centered on it’s essance of strength and modernity, a value we find as a brand and in our customers. The introduction of Caneta Script was a brand new direction for the brand. In the history of RTR, typography has mostly centered on serifs only. Caneta Script is essential to illustrate the brand pathos and brand pillar: the real women who make RTR a community. The handwritten element makes an impression of human connection; a brand centered around the people who make it so great.
Martina Plantijin is a legacy typeface for RTR, decidedly kept in the refreshed branding to capitalize on the equity its earned the brand over the years; ownable in other words. The decision to introduce GT America centered on it’s essance of strength and modernity, a value we find as a brand and in our customers. The introduction of Caneta Script was a brand new direction for the brand. In the history of RTR, typography has mostly centered on serifs only. Caneta Script is essential to illustrate the brand pathos and brand pillar: the real women who make RTR a community. The handwritten element makes an impression of human connection; a brand centered around the people who make it so great.
From proposing the idea to being the in-house illustrator, I led all Illustration elements in this project.
Illustration is an entirely new brand element for RTR, functioning as a tool for storytelling rather than simple decoration. I’ve personally handdrawn each illustration, icon, and symbol. The illustration style is very intentional, organic shapes and loose lines, inteded to evoke a sense of fun and authenticity. The illustration content is carefully decided on and unique to the brand values and brand history at RTR.
Illustration is an entirely new brand element for RTR, functioning as a tool for storytelling rather than simple decoration. I’ve personally handdrawn each illustration, icon, and symbol. The illustration style is very intentional, organic shapes and loose lines, inteded to evoke a sense of fun and authenticity. The illustration content is carefully decided on and unique to the brand values and brand history at RTR.