• Photography
• Graphic Design
• Digital
• Website
• Point of Sale
• Logo
• Interior Design

Anec•dote is an independent bookshop, gallery and purveyor of intriguing things in the heart of Mt Eden. Part retail space, part treasure trove, it brings together rare and new books, maps, art, ephemera and collectables. All hand sourced by owner Don Lyon and his wonderfully particular eye for objects with a story to tell.

Our job was to turn that personality into a brand world.

We developed the complete brand identity system, then carried it through every part of the experience. From the storefront and website to the walls themselves. Two bespoke wallpaper motifs were created for the interior, drawing on New Zealand history, flora and fauna, with a suitably cheeky tūī making an appearance amongst the details.

The physical store became an extension of the identity. We worked across the interior design, signage and custom graphics, overseeing suppliers, production and the fitout programme while Don continued working full-time. It was a highly collaborative process that took the project from ideas on paper to a very real shop on Mt Eden Road.

Online, we designed and built Anec•dote’s Shopify store, translating the character of the physical space into a digital experience while creating a practical system Don and his team could manage going forward.

Photography was understandably a very important part of the project. We created a rich image library capturing the store, its details, books and curious objects for brand storytelling, editorial and digital use. For the ever-changing retail inventory, we developed a deliberately simple product photography system that Don could achieve himself, fast enough for day-to-day retail, consistent with the brand, and without making professional photography an ongoing cost attached to every new object that arrived through the door.

It was an enormous project: brand identity, interior, wallpaper, signage, supplier management, photography, e-commerce and plenty of problem solving in between.

We are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to build the whole experience. Every touchpoint speaking the same language and carrying a little of Don’s wit, curiosity and love of stories.

The result is unmistakably Anec•dote: warm, eccentric, considered and full of things worth noticing.