PUT A LOOK TO IT

I get asked to work on all sorts of identity projects. Some may be rebrands or refreshes of existing companies, others could be upstarts looking to invest in their look/feel or even projects where I’m putting a look together to add credibility to a presentation for gaining investors. This project was an exploration for a business that may include purchasing already existing, established brands and re-naming or even starting from the ground up with finding the right distribution channels and building something new.

Either way, the project had a budget, and I was hired to start creating various looks/feels! I typically wouldn’t show all the unsold, unfinished work, but I pulled most all of my thoughts together for this post to give a little added insight into this project. 

At the top of this post I show the final outcome, a simple “B” formed from a hook and a bit of serif type. I felt for the style we wanted, the serifs added an established feel that worked well with the fishing theme. Since this was an apparel business, I also looked at developing secondary marks for women’s, children’s and specialty men’s product lines. This idea resonated well with the client and gives a lot of flexibility in branding going forward. This also would require more funding and somewhat of a challenge in making sure each of the lines are linked back to Blue Water Inc. 

I used low res imagery for quick mockups to show some of the designs in an environment when talking over layouts. These mockups wouldn’t be used public facing in branding as I pulled all of them from google images, but just give a quick glimpse as to the style each brand mark could fit within.

It’s always such a fun process to see how sketches come to life in black and white vector pieces, the vectors then change into color selection and final versioning until finally really coming to life in realistic mockups. 

I know some designers dislike a project where the intent is more exploratory than starting with an organized brief and sourcing paper samples for use etc., but there is something amazing about being given free reign to explore a brands direction and see where the concepts lead. In the end, the client was excited about the look and I was  compensated to design/create which is my favorite thing to do!

JUST A BRAND REFRESH

I’m thankful for clients who know it’s not as simple as tweaking a few letters and calling it a day. Trailheads has been a client of mine for a few years now. They are great to work with and even greater people on top of that. They first reached out to me after seeing one of my badge designs and hoping I could help them on a hang tag layout. I did the layouts, added some overall branding suggestions and somehow that turned into helping them redesign all their product branding on their Amazon store. It’s been fun to hear how the focus on imagery and design has really upped their sales through Amazon and I always appreciate them keeping me in the loop with future project discussion etc.

Earlier this year Trailheads recruited me to help with some new headers and imagery for their new website. As most people are aware, creating a new website takes a lot of time and resources. That made for the perfect time to refresh the logo, update colors and give a bit of direction. Since I was familiar with their logo from so many previous projects, I knew quite a few changes to suggest right away. These changes would make the logo simpler, a bit more streamlined after taking out a few kinks/bumps and more current without losing the brand equity they established (especially in the women’s trail running space).

Here you can see a before and after of the work I did. I evened out the line weight, centered the diamond more with the “T” in the middle and adjusted some spacing. One thing I like to do also with a handwritten logo is tweak letters that are the same since the style is handwritten it only makes sense that they wouldn't be exactly the same. In this case the “A” letters were tweaked ever so slightly.

I also used a two-tone color scheme with a bright lighter blue for contrast. After looking at the logo and discussion over usage on profile images, hangtags, small ponytail holders, etc. I also created a stacked logo version. This would be very useful for square shapes and profiles the logo may need to live in. With so many printing methods and embroidery included, we also had variations on the logo created with taglines, separate diamond shapes, etc. all with a purpose to improve legibility or solve a problem on certain materials.

Key branding elements were also updated with the new color scheme and tweaked where needed to fit the new direction. These represent just a few elements used in branding and sometime I will do a post showing more vector illustration work and icons done for Trailheads.

A “TH” symbol was also created for favicon use and other very small space needs.

Below is the brand guidelines that were designed to provide direction with the new website and future projects. This was one of the larger brand guidelines I’ve done recently, so I removed some pages as to not make you scroll for a decade. I made it an interactive pdf with each section navigation being a live button and making it easier to navigate. The document talks everything from spacing, to color profiles, typography direction and branding examples.

Once the new website is live I may have to make another post. Trailheads is great to work with and I’m always excited about the variety of their projects. Somehow they even let me design a glove :)

AIR STARTERS. I'M CONFUSED.

I won’t even begin to act like I know how the air starters work. I know the images seem complicated and I’m no engineer, but after talking through the project that may be a good thing. There isn’t anyone alive who could explain exactly how the process works in a logo. Thank goodness logos don’t have to be literal. Many people try to make them that way, but to create a simple memorable mark always is best and that’s what I sought out to do.

For this project, I broke down some components from engines and starters alike. The fan is an interesting component visually to me and with some evolution, I used the shape to morph into a bird which just makes sense with the name :).

The final logo was coupled with a crest-like shape and I liked having the mark placed in the upper corner of the text like it was about to take off. My suggestion for identity materials and branding going forward is to use a red foil stamp, where appropriate, with a flat black backdrop.

WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST BARTER EVER

I love to barter, but this one didn't have a chance :). I may never have a custom home, but I'd like to design for more custom home builders. Fairview wanted a mark that would convey a home and feel more modern than their previous design (before a name change). Currently their brand mark was a multi-colored home and didn't have that high-end/professional look that they were looking for.

Rarely have I done real client projects that seem to combine two really interesting names, like "Monkey Cafe" which I just googled and yes there is a "Monkey House Cafe" in existence.  Those interesting names can really spark creative designs. The challenge with a logo like this is creating a mark that is interesting and can be the essence of a home, but not be super literal and dull.

After a bunch of sketches and after exploring a few different directions, we liked how an "F", when tipped over appears to make two peaks of a roof. It's a very simple solution and could be used in some interesting ways in identity and future branding. The next step was finding the right balance of "F" to roof lines and the correct weight for the logo. 

Multiple type styles were also explored and while the Sans Serif type gave a very modern look, Fairview had previously incorporated a script into their design and a serif type style seemed to be a smooth transition. I altered the type slightly with some added kerning and extended the leg of the "R" as it transitions down to "custom homes". In the final execution, I also changed from the original black and gold color scheme I showed to a navy blue and gold. It was a little less harsh and I liked how established the final layout looks.

BABIES ARE AWESOME

Mercy Community Crisis Pregnancy Center is a great non-profit in Reading, PA. They help council and assist young mom's in need and show the love of Jesus to struggling families. Mom's in need can go to Mercy and get everything from baby wipes, to diapers, to some life advice. What an awesome ministry! Volunteers and donations really help make their ministry possible and like many ministries that have been around a long time, they needed a bit of a refresh with their brand, starting with their visual identity.

"Crisis Pregnancy Center", while being a descriptive part of the logo seemed to be a little wordy. Also, "Crisis" itself has a bit of a negative connotation to it and the simplicity of "Ministry" really seemed to get to the heart of what Mercy wanted to communicate. They exist to minister to the community and families in need. When a young mom comes needing help, yes, they can provide some support with the physical needs of baby products, but also encouragement and advice at a time when they really need it. 

Mercy also was taking over an additional space in another area of reading. The building was a real fixer-upper, but has come a long way with donated time and volunteers to be a great space for supporting couples new to parenting. With the addition of the new building, there was additional questions on how to brand the new building. Should that be connected to the Mercy Ministries logo or branded separately. The new building name was a combination of the location and a verse that fit the ministry. After multiple conversations and emails back and forth from PA, I started developing concept designs for the umbrella of Mercy Ministries and then also the 921 Center.

As you can see, the center logo design was chosen (originally it was in a slightly different color scheme). In addition to the logo design, I designed a donations brochure for the 921 Center that would be a part of a launch package of materials. I really liked "The Room to Grow Campaign" name the Mercy team came up with and I thought using the combination logo (includes the mercy center family icon) to kick off the 921 Center would help connect the new project to the Mercy Ministries brand. The combination logo will also be used on signage for the new building. Typically the independent logo will be used, but in the launch I would like to get some awareness built around that family icon.

Also below is a glimpse at the Brand Standards Guide I put together for the new identity. I can't explain how nice that is to have for a brand that most likely will involve many different vendors and designers assisting on projects. One problem with many ministries or small businesses in general is that people come and go and nobody remembers who worked on what, where the original files are, and somehow they only have a pixelated version of their logo embedded in a word doc. Besides providing organized vector and raster filetypes that include full color PMS versions, grayscale versions, one color versions and reversed versions, I provide a description of each filetype and best practices for using each. The brand guide clears up spacing, what can and can't be done with the logo in marketing materials, color profiles, complimentary typefaces and examples of marketing materials that showcase how the brand should look. Anyway, I hate hearing businesses get toasted by either hiring a designer that doesn't give them any information because it's really valuable for any company rebranding.

THANKS LOGOLOUNGE

LogoLounge was one of the first books I bought (besides class books) in college. Great books for inspiration, motivation and jealousy :). I was excited last year to be in a Bill Gardner trends video on Lynda.com, but even more excited to have 2 logos featured in Book 10. I also have RVW and WorthLend to thank for the projects and being great to work with. 

AD AGE YOUNG GUN COVER CONTEST

Well you never win a contest you don't enter. Truth be told I was ruined by a list minute contest I entered right after the school year ended my junior year of college. I won the contest, a chunk of money to put on my school bill and got to go to a conference for the weekend with a buddy (I really should do a post on that someday since that did really contribute to my start in advertising). Anyway, it's great to win, but some contests are worth entering and some aren't. I haven't always done the best at distinguishing them but this one seemed just fun to enter and since there was a .001% chance to win, why not do something different. The contest was through Ad Age for any creatives under 30. Winners make the cover of the magazine, fly to France for 4 nights for Cannes Lion stuff and will be on outdoor in France. Sure, big agency names were all over past winners work but it would be fun just to enter. The brief or ask was for a visual that represents The Creative Process. Myself and Micah Peek (a talented young designer at Jackson) brainstormed and came up with a few concepts. Of course we got swamped with work around this time and really ended up only having a few days' lunch breaks and a few hours after work to do something cool. That in itself axed some ideas. I wanted to do something 3-dimensional for our entry. I've noticed if you do the traditional approach for any contest there is a good chance you won't stand out and never get noticed. I removed stuff from a wall in my office and we began covering a bulletin board with stickies of ideas and quick thoughts that represented the creative process. Things like: fishing for ideas, skulls representing the ideas that come to life only to quickly die, mazes, stoplights and other imagery that corresponded with idea generation and problem solving. 

As our ideas kept growing, we tossed in sketches, dumb sayings and tried to get more and more granular like a funnel with the detailed stuff heading up to the top right corner of the bulletin board. The initial stuff was pushed off the board completely and was tacked into my wall. The only annoying part was the work now covered my light switch and it was hard to find :). Anyway, once you see up to the top of the composition you can see words like "Kern", "Refine" and "Sell." Then at the very top I did a vector illustration of a rocket ship. I printed and trimmed it out of foam core and tacked it up there. The end result was a clowd of imagery and phrases that we fit contributed to the creative process all sending off the final idea in the form of a little rocket.

I did quite a few versions of the final layout. Some had the bulletin board and some I tweaked the look of the wall. In the end, I took out the bulletin board and went with a gray-blue color backdrop. It just seemed simpler and the colors popped better. We didn't win and I assume we didn't even come close but it was a fun project to brainstorm and do with Micah. Spending time working on something creative doesn't feel like a waste of time. I hope it never does. Someday I will win another good size contest like I did back in college but if I never do, I hope my entries are different. I hope work I contribute to clients or even work just done for fun get's noticed because there is a thought behind it. This thought was that the creative process is messy. It takes a lot of effort, work and refinement in order to send off one final idea.