Scope: Brand strategy, Brand architecture, Verbal identity, Visual identity, Type system
Live at: tiendakhala.com

The challenge

Khala grew out of a family workshop where leathercraft, family bonds and commercial intuition share the same table. Their handmade footwear and bags, crafted in 100% genuine leather, had loyal customers, but the brand was scattered: separate names, inconsistent graphics and no system holding it together. Khala had reached a turning point. It needed to grow from local retail into a structured brand house without losing the warmth and memory that make the craft matter.

The insight

Khala doesn’t sell leather goods. It turns family memory into objects made to last.

The process

01 Diagnose. We held story and operations sessions with the three people who lead Khala: founder Carolina Loaiza, financial lead Eunice Bautista and strategic partner Héctor Santacruz. We mapped their production, their leather supply and why their customers keep coming back.

02 Define. We positioned Khala around endurance, not trends. We wrote its purpose, values and manifesto, and built a verbal identity on one line: “Cuero, historia y vida” (Leather, history and life).

03 Design. We built a type-first identity system: an editorial serif for emotion, a sturdy grotesk for structure and an earth-and-mineral palette.

04 Deploy. We designed the rollout across packaging, product labels, leather debossing, digital channels and campaign touchpoints.

Type decisions

Khala lives between two forces: the tenderness of handmade work and the strength of things built to last. The type system holds both.

• Playfair Display carries headlines, brand statements and the Kh monogram. Its high contrast and fine hairlines bring warmth and intimacy.

• Quilichao Grotesk, a typeface from Vástago’s retail catalog, licensed for Khala, carries the structure: the wordmark, sub-brand lockups, tags and microcopy. Its robust proportions and open counters keep it legible when stamped into leather or printed small.

• Roboto handles functional interface text in digital channels.

Large serif headlines set the emotional tone. The grotesk keeps everything else in order.

The system

• Brand architecture: Khala Colombia as the master brand, with Khala Outlet and two signature lines, Carolina Khala and Héctor Khala.

• Wordmark & monogram: a widely spaced uppercase wordmark, paired with a serif Kh monogram for small formats and digital avatars.

• Color: Claro Bautista #FCF6EE · Aníbal Beige #F7E7D2 · Marrón Cafetero #68481F · Azul Khala #00AEC7 · Naranja Tostado #BA681D · Cuero Vegetal #344128 · Verde Territorio #4F785F

• Graphic elements: a dashed stitching rule that echoes the seams of leather goods and signs every piece with “Cuero · Historia · Vida”.

• Verbal identity: the tagline “Cuero, historia y vida”, supported by lines such as “Tu historia también se viste” (Your story is something you wear).

Applications

• Shoe box in Azul Khala, shipped with every pair

• Debossed leather branding

• Shopping bag and canvas tote

• Product hang tags

• Online store

• Campaign key visuals and outdoor

• Branded T-shirt and coffee cup

• Gift coffee packaging

• Instagram profile and e-commerce UI kit

Outcome

3 brand signatures designed under one brand house: Khala Colombia, Khala Outlet and Carolina Khala.

12 touchpoints designed as a single system, from leather debossing to the e-commerce UI kit.

3 leaders, one story: creative direction, finance and strategy aligned around a single brand narrative.

For the first time, the family story behind Khala is visible in everything it puts into the world.

Testimonial

“This new brand feels like us, exactly as we are. I can see our family history in it, and that’s what Khala is: a family effort in service of a dream we share with others through our products.”

— Carolina Loaiza, Founder & Creative Director, Khala Colombia

Credits

• Brand strategy & visual identity: Vástago Design Studio

• Typeface: Quilichao Grotesk, Vástago retail catalog, licensed to Khala

• Client team: Carolina Loaiza, Eunice Bautista, Héctor Santacruz

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