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Janela Bay Swimwear Branding

A long-running Janela Bay collaboration spanning swimwear branding, campaign photography, retail signs, motion, packaging, and textile prints.

Janela Bay swimwear branding banner with an illustrated beach scene and three women at the shore

What went into this project

  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Brand Identity & Art DirectionLogo refinements and creative direction across campaigns and retail materials.
  • Campaign & Retail DesignMagazine ads, billboards, store signs, and digital promotions.
  • Illustration & Textile DesignIllustrated swimwear campaigns and selected floral and abstract fabric prints.
  • Campaign PhotographySwimwear photography for seasonal launches, advertising, and printed materials.
  • Motion GraphicsAnimated promotions adapted for digital campaign placements.
  • Packaging & Print DesignReusable bags, catalogs, business cards, size charts, and other customer-facing materials.

Janela Bay makes modest swimwear with fit and confidence at its center. I joined as a designer and photographer, became lead designer and photographer, and later took on marketing management while continuing to lead the creative work. Over that time, I’ve designed store and mall signs, magazine ads, billboards, animated promotions, web banners, bags, business cards, and selected prints for the swimsuits themselves. I’ve also photographed campaigns and helped shape the brand identity. The look has moved from illustrated retail scenes toward photography, but the goal has stayed the same: show the swimwear clearly and help people feel confident wearing it.

Illustrated swimwear campaigns and retail signs

The early campaigns leaned on illustration. I drew individual suits and separates so the ads could feature specific styles in a way that felt like Janela Bay. The same approach carried into beach scenes, sale signs, reusable bags, size charts, and even a customer-service reminder for store teams. The message still had to read quickly; the drawings gave it personality.

Cheetah swimwear illustrationTtop pcheckered swimwear illustrationOpiece stripe swimwear illustrationGswim pink swimwear illustrationMshorts blue swimwear illustrationFlower swimwear illustrationSkirt swimwear illustrationTtop greenhalf swimwear illustration
Leopard swimwear illustrationRed bottom swimwear illustrationDress swimwear illustrationTtop blue swimwear illustrationBottom brown swimwear illustrationGswim opiece swimwear illustrationPants swimwear illustrationTtop brown swimwear illustration
Mystery shorts swimwear illustrationTtop green swimwear illustrationMshorts gray swimwear illustrationBag swimwear illustrationTtop black swimwear illustrationBlack bottom swimwear illustrationTtop pcheckered swimwear illustrationOpiece stripe swimwear illustration
Individual illustrated suits and separates from the early Janela Bay campaigns.
Illustrated New Swim is In store sign with two women on a beachIllustrated Black Friday swimwear sale signJanela Bay customer-service reminder with illustrated staff scenarios
Illustrated swimwear promotions and an in-store customer-service reminder.

Those drawings also appeared in magazine ads and signs displayed inside the malls where Janela Bay had stores. Some announced a store move; others let shoppers know the team was hiring. Each one had to be useful to shoppers while still feeling like Janela Bay.

Janela Bay magazine advertisement and illustrated hiring signJanela Bay signs announcing a store move inside a shopping mall
Magazine advertising, a hiring sign, and signs announcing a store move.

Campaign photography and retail signage

As I began shooting more of the campaigns myself, the suits on people became the focus. The Summer Edit and Resort Collection posters introduce new ranges through photography; the paired sale signs have to deliver an offer at a glance. Larger type does that work, while the beach and floral drawings move into a supporting role.

The same approach carried into a 2026 magazine ad, where the photography and retail details had to work together on a printed page.

2026 Janela Bay magazine ad combining swimwear photos and retail information

Print, digital, and motion advertising

I’ve designed billboards, magazine ads, web banners, and short animated promotions for Janela Bay. Each format asks for a different read: a billboard needs the message immediately, while an animation has a few seconds to reveal it. As marketing manager, I also helped plan how those pieces fit together without stepping away from design and photography.

The catalog, square ads, and vertical animations below show how I adapted the same photography and type for different offers and placements.

Brand identity, packaging, and retail materials

I’ve helped refine the Janela Bay logo and how it gets used, from an earlier circular palm to a JB mark for men’s swim and the current square palm mark. We tested the marks on garments and beside the wordmark in print, where they still need to read at a small size.

Earlier circular Janela Bay palm logo in pinkWhite JB logo for the men’s swim line on a dark squareJanela Bay square palm mark shown in light and dark garment applications
Logo directions and garment applications explored over time.

That brand work extends to the things customers use and take home. I redesigned the reusable bag from an illustrated beach scene to a blue geometric repeat, and simplified the size chart from a swimmer graphic to a pink floral frame so the measurements had more room. I’ve also designed business cards, lanyards, handouts, and other retail print pieces.

Earlier Janela Bay reusable bag with an illustrated swimmer floating in the waterBlue geometric Janela Bay reusable shopping bag designEarlier Janela Bay size chart with a swimmer on an inner tubeUpdated pink floral Janela Bay size chart
Reusable bags and size charts, earlier illustrated versions at left and later designs at right.
Janela Bay business card front with two models on a beachJanela Bay business card back with pink floral line work and contact details
Business card front and back: campaign photography on one side, floral line art and contact details on the other.

The writing had to strike a similar balance. “Confidence looks good on you” is direct and welcoming; “Life isn’t perfect, but your swimsuit can be” gives the brand a little humor while staying focused on fit and quality.

Swimwear textile print design

I’ve created or refined selected floral and abstract prints used on Janela Bay suits. A repeat has to look balanced at different scales and across different cuts, not just as a flat square of artwork. These are examples of my contribution, not the full swimwear collection.

Coral and yellow floral print for Janela Bay swimwearPink watercolor roses on a dark swimwear printWarm tropical abstract print for Janela Bay swimwearAbstract palm and floral repeat in peach and blue
A selection of floral and abstract textile artwork I developed or helped refine.

Related Workshop Articles

More on the vector drawing behind illustrated campaign artwork and custom brand shapes.

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