Stardew Valley Visual Identity guide cover

Stardew Valley Visual Guide

Visual Style Guide and Mock-Ups for Fictional Location
Sole Designer
Overview

Academic assignment in which I created a visual identity and style guide for the fictional location of Stardew Valley

Tools
Goal
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe InDesign

Create a comprehensive and coherent style guide that can be used by future designers to create consistent designs for the county of Stardew Valley

Design Process
Logo Development
My first step was to create a mood board from in game artwork, fanart, and nature photos to best capture the desired themes and moods that represent Stardew Valley.
Themes/Moodes: 
  • Warm
  • Cozy
  • Friendly
  • Nature
  • Community
  • Small Town/Rural Vibes
Collage of images relating or similar to Stardew Valley
Grid of basic logo idea samples with varying formats
From the mood board, I filled out a logo design matrix by selecting elements that symbolize Stardew Valley.
I created variations of these elements or found images from online or within the original game

I sampled several fonts until I was happy with my choice. Then I added colors and shapes.  I initially went for circular, wooden signs but did not like the colors.

Ultimately, I liked making the shape resemble a window to give the illusion that the logo was actually a landscape. Lastly, I simplified the logo to only have 3 colors.

Visual Identity
I combined everything I had designed thus far into the visual style guide.  I created logo variations and patterns as well as set guidelines for image use.
View Full Guide

Sample of Visual Guide

Poster and Print Mock-Ups
To finalize the project, I created various mock-ups to use around the town. These included a bus-stop advertisement, wayfinding sign, and wooden welcome sign.
Reflections

I had a lot of fun with this project but wish there was more available lore and background for me to include. My main source of information was the Stardew Valley Wiki and my hours of gameplay (I have over 200 hours across both the PC and Switch versions).

With more time, I would have liked to: 

  • Ask members of Stardew Valley forums for feedback
  • Create more mock-ups (ex: government website, event flyers)
aqnguyenle@gmail.com714.458.9980LinkedIn