dfdesigner

Reston Soccer Sports a New Logo

2012-01-21T11:13:00.009-05:00

Once again, my passions collide in this new logo for Reston Soccer Association. I guess being a coach, age-group commissioner, and board member wasn't enough for me, because I had to add the organization's visual identity to my list of duties (Actually, the other board members do a hell of a lot of work so this was the least I could do to keep up with them!). They have been a great group to work with and, while there have been some hiccups along the way (who knew patches could be so difficult?), it's been a great experience and so much fun to see the new logo on jerseys, magnets, fliers and more. My son is none too thrilled that only the travel players get color logos on their jerseys, but I don my coach's jersey with extra pride seeing that beautiful logo on it.

The old "Helvetica Man" logo

One of the challenges with a pro-bono (of course I didn't charge them!) like this is to follow the same process you would with a paying client. I deliberately presented it in a way that would show that I took the project seriously and had only come to the final idea through careful consideration. With no skin in the game, money-wise, it's easy for a pro-bono client to say "No thanks" and walk away. Thankfully, in this case my hard work paid off and, with a few minor tweaks, the idea I presented was the one that was approved. Below is my complete presentation — with explanations for each element in the new logo — in case you're interested. (Click on each to enlarge.)

Design and Nature: A Natural Fit

2011-03-30T22:52:00.002-04:00

I’ve been working with the Friends of Reston for the last couple of years (see my earlier post on designing their logo) and was happy to design posters for their annual evening of nature-themed storytelling to benefit the Nature House. I’m a big fan of the Nature House (and especially appreciate their bathroom that is open to the public and is a perfect stopping point on my walks around Reston) so this was a perfect project for me.

I’d love to try my hand at storytelling some time, but until I get up the nerve (and have something interesting to say), I’ll have to settle for contributing by telling their story through design.

Beautiful* Logos for the Beautiful Game

2011-03-29T22:08:00.011-04:00

I've been playing soccer since my elementary school days, but only in the last few years have my athletic and design lives intersected. Soccer logos are a funny thing. Most European club teams have very traditional crests or seals that I don't find terribly appealing. On the other hand, MLS (Major League Soccer) logos blend old-school European with a slicker, more American style.

My first soccer logo was for the Phoenix, my indoor team at the time. A flaming soccer ball seemed to fit the bill nicely and I chose type that had a funky, retro-futuristic feel. Definitely not traditional. I had to stop playing due to a series of injuries, but I hope the logo lives on.

The Blackhawks were my son's first team and my first opportunity to dip my toes into coaching (I was an assistant, but yelled like I was the real coach). After I designed it, I was bothered by the V-shape formed by the wings, but rationalized that it was a V for "Victory." Not that that helped us much.

I've been coaching the Reston Legends for the last couple years. The name is rather ironic since we haven't been very good (though we always seem to rise to the occasion come tournament time). I really like the way the soccer ball resembles a globe emerging from the dark of night.

The Wreckers are my son's - and my - futsal (a type of indoor soccer) team. I messed around with this one for weeks in my spare time, fussing over the chain and the type. At the last minute, I found out that the image area was more square than the rectangular shape I had been working with and I had to come up with something new in a few days. In the end, I love the way the ball emerges from the shield, blending old- and new-school sensibilities.

I'm currently working on a soccer league logo that is in the development stages. Fingers crossed, I'll unveil it soon.

*Beautiful might be stretching it a bit, but I couldn't resist it for the headline.

A Banner Day

2010-02-23T22:31:00.004-05:00

I opened my email the other morning and was pleased to find an acceptance letter from the AIGA DC chapter saying one of my banner submissions was accepted for the Urban Forest Project in Washington DC. The Urban Forest Project is a campaign that creates awareness of the importance of trees, the environment and sustainability using banners on street lights and signs in the downtowns of cities like New York City, Denver and San Francisco. After several months, the banners are recycled into bags and auctioned to benefit a local nonprofit. Over 400 banners were submitted for the DC UFP campaign and only 100 were accepted to hang this Spring in the nation's capital. I'll keep you posted with more details as I get them.

The illustration I used is from an old book of engravings. I find it particularly fitting that a wood engraving is being used after all these years to promote the importance of trees.

The Tidewater School, Part 1

2009-04-11T10:49:00.005-04:00

We homeschool our kids, but if we sent them to school, Tidewater is the type of place we'd send them. A nurturing environment where students' individual learning styles are respected, The Tidewater School is a true community. A desire to grow the school beyond its current size made them realize that they had outgrown their existing logo and identity.

Normally, I present logos on individual sheets, but after meeting with the educators from Tidewater, I knew they would be receptive to something a little different. Having heard that they put together photo albums at the end of each school year, I decided to put together my presentation in the form of an album.

I started out with a series of words (each on an individual page, but shown all together here) that set the tone for what we were trying to express/achieve with their new logo. Each logo I presented had to reflect all or most of these attributes.

I presented each logo concept as if it were a chapter in the album — with titles like you might find in a children's book — and showed how each logo might appear in color and on a t-shirt. I don't normally show logos this finished, but felt that several of the ideas (including my favorite) were better explained when they were more fully realized. You need to be careful not to show too much at this stage or you may end up stuck with an idea that hasn't been fully thought out. In all cases, I used blues and teals since these were colors they requested and I agreed that they made sense with their name.

Concept 1: Ebb and Flow
When you visit Tidewater, you get the sense that there is a lot of movement and energy in the place, so for the first concept, I used a visual representation of the name to suggest the dynamic nature of the school. I like the the idea that there could be several variations of the logotype to further reinforce this idea.

Concept 2: Water and Sky
When I think of the name Tidewater — and think of what the school is all about — there is a strong connection to the natural world. To me, this idea represents that connection: the symbol itself, with its flowing shapes, could be a sun or the ripples of the water. It can also be seen as a pinwheel, a reference to children and childhood discovery.

Concept 3: It Came From the Tidepool
I must admit that this was probably my favorite. As a symbol of childhood exploration and discovery, the idea of somehow representing a tidepool had intrigued me. Meanwhile, in an attempt to create a distinctive, iconic T for Tidewater, I started drawing squirmy lower-case t's on a napkin. The two ideas merged in a shape that, to me, clearly expressed the joy of finding some small creature in the depths of a tidepool (and putting it back after you've studied it a bit, of course).

Concept 4; Dance of the Sea Stars
Early on, the folks at Tidewater had requested that I try doing something with a sea star. I was a bit skeptical at first, but when I started working with it, I really liked the sense of movement and change they could convey, especially when used in multiples. Just a note: my kids rightly pointed out that sea stars aren't the brightest of the sea creatures and that an octopus might be a better symbol of marine intelligence. I had to admit that they had a point, but wasn't so sure that an octopus would make a good symbol for the school.

Next post: And the winner is...

The Tidewater School, Part 2

2009-04-10T11:41:00.004-04:00

Let me just say that the album idea was a big hit. It was definitely extra work to present the logo concepts that way, but it really made for a memorable presentation. More importantly, helped the client to see my thought process and gave them a memento of the occasion. Something that logos on boards or PDFs just can't do. Effective communication requires knowing your audience.

So, which one did they choose? To my surprise, Concept 2 (the sun and sky) was their favorite. But, they were concerned that the shapes in the symbol were too uniform and really liked the way my sketch (which was screened back like a watermark on a page in the album) had a more organic feel. For my part, the roughness of the sketch was a little too unpolished so I set out to find a happy middle ground. Below is the original sketch and a few of the variations I tried (click on the image and you can see them larger):

Finally, after about a week of back and forth, we all felt comfortable with a rougher, but still somewhat polished, version of the "pinwheel." I was particularly pleased that they liked the somewhat unusual layout of the name and typeface — Fontin — that I chose. After considerable exploration, I found Fontin at a smaller type "foundry" and I really liked the way the characters reflected the organic nature of the symbol. The fact that typeface came in a variety weights, small caps, and sans serif made it particularly versatile for their future needs.

A seal using the symbol was created for their Circle of Friends giving program. I just love a good seal, don't you?

Next post: the identity evolves...

Book 'Em!

2009-03-27T00:05:00.004-04:00

I'm very excited to announce that five of my logos — for the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Rivet, Buddha Scoots, Fairfax Library Foundation and my very own symbol — were chosen for the new book Logos & Letterheads, a part of the 100s Visual Ideas series. Designed by Matt Woolman, the book features hundreds of the best logos and stationery from around the country. Thanks to everyone who made it possible to such great work!

Dad & Mouse

2009-02-03T23:08:00.000-05:00

One day, I was looking through my daughter Aster's sketchbook and I fell in love with her sketch of a girl with a balloon. I scanned it, added color and, along with a bunch of others, turned them into greeting cards. Of course, I couldn't make cards — whether or not they're ever going to be sold — without creating a logo to go on them.

Since she was only a few days old, Aster's nickname has been the Mouse (or Mousie) and I liked the idea that this was a collaborative effort between us so I used the name A Dad & Mouse Collaboration. I found a typeface that had a soft, whimsical feel to it and I made a small tweak for a finishing touch. When I showed her the cards she responded by saying "Now I'm famous!"

Obama Logo Design Process

2008-12-12T06:59:00.004-05:00

I haven't featured other people's work yet on this site, but was totally captured by how this 2-part video of the Obama logo design process reflects my own views on logo and identity design. Whether you voted for Obama or not, I think we can all agree that his campaign's identity was one of the best ever, political or otherwise. On a personal note, this election was the first that my kids were old enough to really get interested in and the Obama identity was something they could actually relate to. Plus, it was another opportunity to talk about what Daddy does for a living (I always cherish those conversations). I'm turning them into astute logo observers!

Reston Sprint Triathlon

2008-10-01T23:27:00.009-04:00

The Reston Sprint Triathlon is a race with a purpose: all proceeds go to Reston Interfaith, one of Northern Virginia's most effective non-profit organizations. The logo takes its cue from the event's course along the winding, wooded paths and streets with a sleek winged monogram and bold, nature-inspired colors.

The wing can also be seen as the foot of Mercury, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, with the three parts of the wing representing the three disciplines of the triathlon: swimming, running and cycling. The new logo will be officially introduced in the run-up to the 2009 race. If you're a triathlete (or aspire to be one) and want to help out a worthwhile organization, sign up early as it fills up well in advance. Check out www.restonsprinttri.org and www.restoninterfaith.org for more information about this great event.

I recently found out that the client has gone back to their old logo, though not because they weren't happy with what I'd done. Oh well...

ArtisTree: Behind the Scenes

2008-09-25T22:54:00.017-04:00

Sometimes, new projects come from the unlikeliest places. In this case, it came from a conversation at a Brownie (Girl Scout) camping trip. One of the mothers mentioned that she, her husband and a partner were planning to open an arts studio in Reston, Virginia with the aim of giving people of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to take classes and collaborate with others in dance, theater and the visual arts. Being a closet artist myself, I jumped at the chance to work on this project and be a part of this exciting concept. Here is a look at the process behind the artistry.

Concepting and Sketching
I'll be the first to admit that my sketching isn't the most beautiful and my process may not seem very neat. I don't spend hours at a time working on a logo, but chip away at it a little at a time, filling my notebook with words and phrases that lead to sketches which eventually find their way to the computer. My goal is to fill as many pages as possible, often drawing the same thing over and over again until it's worked its way out of my head and I can move on to another idea. Like I said, it's not always beautiful, but it's proven very effective for me. Here are a couple of pages from my sketchbook showing the initial ideas for the ArtisTree logo.

The Presentation
I typically show 4-6 logos, almost always in black and white (so that color doesn't distract from the ideas being presented), but I went a little overboard on this project and showed logos both in black and white (not shown) and color. I always try to show a range of concepts, from more conservative to a little out there, conceptually. In this case, the challenge was to represent the world of artistic expression — from dance to theater to the visual arts — in a dynamic, exciting way. I also tried a few that incorporated a tree to reflect that aspect of the name.

The client seemed thrilled with the ideas I presented and had a hard time deciding which they liked (one of the drawbacks of showing too many ideas). After some deliberation, they came back to me and asked to see a couple of the ideas refined a little more.

Round 2
The "splat" idea was inspired by the client's quote during a presentation where they said the end result of the art is less important than the process. I thought about what the tables at ArtisTree might look like after a work session and how this might convey the idea of art happening. The client liked this idea too so we refined the "tree/splat" to incorporate the text into the symbol and tried a new idea where there were more splats and one where the splats became part of the name.

Round 3
The tree/splat was one of my early favorites and I was pleased that the client seemed to be favoring that concept. They were still unsure of the typeface inside the symbol so I tried a few new faces to see how they looked. For simplicity's sake, I worked in black and white for this round.

They were focused on the stencil typeface at first, but later we tried a few other typefaces that I thought worked well with the symbol.

Round 4
Few logo projects require this many sets of revisions, but I felt we were close so it was worth the back and forth to bring it to fruition. If we could just get the final details resolved... At one point the client showed me the logo for their landscaper — a tree with the name inside it — that looked a little close to the tree/splat I had developed. To distance it further, we tried the logo with the name under the logo and linked the symbol and type by dotting the "i" with the bottom of the splat.

I really liked where this was going and felt we had finally nailed it, but the client was still unsure about the typeface. They really liked the idea of being outsiders, even a bit geeky. They showed me a few typefaces they liked that expressed this feeling and I added a few of my own.

Success!
After all the back-and-forth, the three partners just couldn't agree on the tree/splat and went back to an earlier version that they could all feel good about. The funky retro typeface was not my first choice, but I've learned over the years to sometimes just go with the flow and not over-analyze things too much. And shouldn't you take a few risks when it comes to art? I liked the way we could use the black background as a "window" with revolving art inside to better express the idea of individual expression. And it gave me the opportunity to use my extensive collection of scanned textures. So far, I've made 20+ versions of the logo and will keep adding more as the mood suits us. Pretty cool, huh?

Now that the logo is done, it will be applied to a variety of materials, from print to the web to signage and shirts. Here's what the business card looks like.

I'll post more as it's developed. Thanks to Margo and Greg Pryzby and Marco Rando for trusting me with their baby. I'm looking forward to taking classes and maybe teaching a few down the road. Check out www.restonartistree.com to find out more about their terrific arts programs.

Phoenix-Factor

2008-09-18T22:28:00.010-04:00

Phoenix-Factor is an organization with the goal of addressing America's engineer shortage by providing support and education for veterans returning to the world outside the military. The logo needs to appeal to the veterans themselves, military personnel in charge of preparing veterans for civilian life, and private sector companies who partner with Phoenix-Factor — and who ultimately hire the veterans.

Avoiding literal phoenix images (I'm not much of an illustrator, to be honest), I focused on the ideas of growth and transformation, which is really what Phoenix-Factor is all about. The logo is made up of three elements: the wings/flames to represent the phoenix, a shield formed in the negative space to symbolize the military as defenders of the nation and an X/star to suggest aspiration and the X-factor that Phoenix-Factor provides in the lives of vets. I don't normally try to cram so much into a symbol, but military insignia is about detail and meaning of various elements so it seemed particularly appropriate in this case.

Invision.tv

2008-05-15T23:01:00.011-04:00

Invision.tv is a web-based application that allows you to find, watch and interact with videos from across the web. Working for the fine folks at Ollie Interactive, I created a logo and identity that reflects the idea of choice and selection. Additionally, the client is an Apple enthusiast and his main request was that the logo express the same feelings of friendliness and ease-of-use that come through in Apple's identity (easier said than done!). Starting out as a flower, the shapes evolved into television screens in different colors in a wheel reminiscent of a ViewMaster (remember them?) that turns as you make your selection.

Many times, I know a logo is right when I can imagine how it might be animated — not for the sake of animation, but to further express the client's story. Often, it doesn't turn out as I envisioned it, but I was delighted when Ollie's interactive magicians brought it to life. Simple, but highly effective! Check out invision.tv at — you guessed it — www.invision.tv. If you're looking for top-notch interactive work by wonderful people, visit www.ollieinteractive.com.

Mama Needs Shoes

2008-02-02T22:38:00.010-05:00

My wife makes stylish purses, bracelets and other accessories that she sells on her Etsy shop (for those of you who don't know, Etsy is a site that allows artisans and craftspeople the ability to sell their work online). The ironic name (she doesn't need any more shoes, in my opinion!) fits her perfectly, with just the right blend of fun and attitude and she wanted a logo that would be both playful and elegant.

To best fit the Etsy format, we agreed that a type treatment would be the best way to solve the problem and I began a weeks-long search of every type website I knew of in hopes of finding the right typeface. After looking at literally hundreds of typefaces, we finally found a face we could agree on. To make it unique, I performed a little type surgery (a flourish here, a swash there) and the result was a trifecta: I'm happy, she's happy, and we're still married. Whew!

Ollie Interactive

2007-11-11T17:37:00.002-05:00

Formerly Gildea Media Group, they came to me needing not just a new logo, but a new name as well. Ollie was ultimately chosen to reflect their friendly, energetic personality and the logo was designed to emphasize technology and interaction. The circular motif also gives them something to build their identity on. One thing I always consider when naming a company is how it will sound when you say it when picking up the phone: "Hello, Ollie Interactive..." This logo and the stationery package that went with it won a Certificate of Merit from the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington's 2007 Annual Show. It is shown here in two configurations, or "lock-ups," for different applications.

Fairfax Library Foundation

2007-11-10T23:20:00.001-05:00

This logo was created for the organization that raises funds for Fairfax County librairies. The client had a pretty long list of requirements, including making it "classic" and "swashy." It was created on a fairly tight schedule and was a truly collaborative effort. I think the greatest compliment from the client was that I was able to come up with a solution in only a few weeks after they had been working on it for over a year.

Chippewa Government Solutions

2007-11-06T13:50:00.002-05:00

Chippewa is a Native-American, veteran-owned business doing consulting work for the Federal Government. It would have been easy to fall into the trap of giving it a "native" look to it: you know, maybe some rough-looking type, or perhaps an arrowhead. Instead, I proposed — and the client agreed — that it should have a clean, professional feel without falling into stereotypes. After doing some research on the Chippewa tribe — and having the Gordon Lightfoot song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" running through my head every time I thought of the project — I came up with a stylized C that resembled a leaf. I've been told that the stem of the leaf also suggests a bow.

Friends of Reston

2007-11-06T11:15:00.002-05:00

This was created for a non-profit organization in Reston, Virginia. Reston is known for its abundance of green spaces and the Friends are actively involved in promoting the building of the Reston Nature House, so I thought the vine that forms the F fit them perfectly. There's a nice contrast between the thin, flexible F and the solid, weighty R which creates a little tension (the good kind). I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a sucker for anything to do with Reston (or for any good cause for that matter).

R. Dale & Company

2007-11-05T23:25:00.001-05:00

R. Dale is a company that sells GPS devices, though at the time this was designed, they were leaving the possibility open that they might expand into other areas. The monogram I created was designed have a distinctive, energetic feel without getting too specific with the imagery. The D shape can be seen as a road — a nod to the GPS products — while being abstract enough that it could represent other things as well.

Buddha Scoots

2007-11-05T23:16:00.002-05:00

Buddha Scoots is an entrepreneur's idea for a store that sells both scooters and the scooter lifestyle. The request was for something that would reflect certain Buddhist characteristics — without looking overtly religious — and could be easily made into a medallion for the front of a scooter. The eye is a recurring symbol in Buddhism and in the pupil is hidden a yin-yang symbol and the company's initials. Like with Phoenix-Factor above, I put more "stuff" into this logo than is typical for me, but I really like the various layers of information in this one.

Above is one of the ideas I presented for the Buddha Scoots logo. Though I know it was perhaps too subtle, I still really love the reference to the round-bellied Buddha that many of us are familiar with. It makes me smile every time I see it!

Fairfax Futures

2007-11-05T22:55:00.000-05:00

Though fairly simple, this is one of my all-time favorites. designed while I was a partner of the identity firm Hinge, the purpose of this nonprofit is to raise funds to improve the quality of early childhood education. At the outset, they stressed the business implications of a well-educated workforce so we deliberately avoided touchy-feely imagery. The client was unconvinced of this design at first until I pointed out that my then-5 year-old had looked at the logo and said "The letters look like they're friends." What could they say after that? : )

Rivet

2007-11-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

This client came to me with a great name for his real estate and construction consulting business and I was very happy to have something interesting to work with. He even chose the oxide red and steel beam gray colors which I thought were spot on. The business card is printed on a metallic silver paper with faux rivets to complete the effect.

Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington

2007-11-05T20:23:00.001-05:00

There's quite a story behind this one! I have been involved with the Club for close to 15 years and was on my first term as president when we decided to create a new logo. Although I am vehemently against design contests (I'll explain in another post), we decided that it would make the most sense — and serve our members best — if we had a competition to design the new logo. The catch was that we would treat it as much like a real project as we could and only members who had attended a kick-off meeting could participate. The logo was chosen by member vote at a special event and the final decision was made by the Club's board withough knowing the identity of the designers. Mine was chosen and it caused a bit of a stir, but it was agreed that it was the best choice.

Deciding on one color that would represent such a diverse — and colorful — member base was a real challenge and ultimately, I chose a flexible palette of colors that would give us the most freedom while still creating a cohesive identity. There are six dark color logo bottoms and six lighter color logo tops that can be mixed and matched to suit the particular application.

Freddie Mac Logos

2007-11-04T15:48:00.001-05:00

There's not a lot of need for logos at Freddie Mac, but when one does come up, I always jump at the chance ("like a hobo on a ham sandwich" my friend Eric Stewart would say). Here are the ones I've done during my three years there. Actually, we usually try to refer to them as "graphic identifiers" rather than logos so there's no confusion with Freddie's real logo.

The idea above was my favorite for the FreddieTV assignment: I was totally in love with the clever combination of the house with the TV antenna and was really bummed when it wasn't chosen. The reasoning — which I reluctantly agree with — is that the TV channel is for Freddie Mac employees and they know that FM's focus is on homes so any home imagery didn't need to be part of the logo. We got one comment about the symbol that was ultimately chosen, that TVs no longer have antennas. True, but antennas are the quickest way to make something look like a television. Take a look at the Tivo logo if you don't believe me.

Jagtiani + Guttag

2007-11-03T23:38:00.000-04:00

Ajay Jagtiani is an intellectual property attorney but he's unlike any lawyer I've ever worked for (and I've worked for quite a few over the years). When I presented him the concepts for his new logo, there was one idea that I thought was "the one" so I did something a little different. I made him a spiral-bound book that showed how I got to that idea, making my case for why I thought he should go with it. It was a bit of a risk, but somehow I knew Ajay would appreciate the effort. From that small start-up he has grown to a firm with offices in three cities and I'm proud to have been there at the beginning. I developed the tagline along with the logo while I had my company, Fuller Designs.

Leach Travell Britt

2007-11-03T23:25:00.000-04:00

Leach Travell Britt is a litigation and business law firm in Northern Virginia. They are small, but all the lawyers have big-firm experience and they are unified in their committment to helping their business clients succeed no matter the legal challenge. To convey this sense of unity, the partners' initials were rendered using related shapes and placed within a circle to further connect them. Designed for EVOLVE.

Walsh Colucci

2007-11-03T23:09:00.001-04:00

Walsh Colucci is Northern Virginia's premier zoning and land-use law firm. Designed while I was with Grasp Creative (now Hinge), their new logo and tagline — The Land Lawyers — were created to emphasize this specialty and Walsh Colucci's impact on the shape of today's Northern Virginia landscape (and skyline). By far, the longest name I've ever had to use in a logo!

Law Offices of David G. Tripp

2007-11-03T22:55:00.000-04:00

I met David when he helped me negotiate my exit from the firm I helped to found in 2002. He is a rare combination of genuinely nice guy and tenacious advocate and I wanted that reflected somehow in his logo. He had originally wanted to create some sort of ambigram (a word that can be read the same forward and backward), but that was proving rather tough to pull off. It all came together when I discovered that I could combine his initials and the scales of justice in a symmetrical design. I know the scales are cliché, but I thought that this was a fresh enough way to use them to make it work. I also came up with the tagline "A Better Balance for Your Business" to be used on his business card.

Adventures in Paradise

2007-11-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

Adventures in Paradise designs high-end travel packages, primarily focused on sailing and warm-weather destinations. The goal here was to create the feeling of travel as it used to be and what says that more than stamps and postmarks? I also came up with the tagline "Wish You Were There." This was designed while I was an owner and partner of the design firm Grasp Creative.

Diakon Logistics

2007-11-03T22:10:00.000-04:00

Diakon helps their retail clients get products to customers in an efficient and professional manner. Normally, I would advise against making a graphic element the first letter in a company name. It almost always looks awkward and impairs legibility. In this case, by carefully matching the weight and angle of the graphic D with the rest of the type in the name, I was able to create a seamless logotype that quickly conveys Diakon's business of delivering goods from one place to another. Created while I was at Hinge.

Evergreen Systems

2007-11-01T23:54:00.000-04:00

Evergreen is an IT company and when they came to us (I worked with another designer on this project), they had an identity that looked anything but tech. The old logo featured a series of triangles that made another, larger triangle. Nothing horrible, but somewhat clunky and, when combined with a deep green color and a plain, sans serif typeface, it all looked rather drab.

Our solution wasn't terribly radical, but was totally in keeping with Evergreen's philosophy of streamlining the IT process. By eliminating all but one triangle, pairing a new, brighter green with a more techy silver, and creating a unique logotype, we were able to breathe new life into their identity. Noticing that the triangle symbol could read as either a tree (an evergreen, of course) or an upward-pointing arrow, we added the tagline "IT that aims higher" to emphasize Evergreen's forward-thinking approach to IT.

Core Channel Consulting

2007-11-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

Core provides high-level expertise on channel partner evaluation and development. I have to be honest and say that I don't totally understand what that means, but Core is a cool name so it was good to have something strong to start with. It can get tough when you have to work with a long or boring name (and you certainly get plenty of those in the DC area!).

Vista Wealth Strategies

2007-11-01T13:15:00.000-04:00

Vista provides financial planning with a high level of personal service. Vista Wealth Strategies is the new name I gave them and I also came up with their tagline: "See it. Plan it. Live it."

Daniel Schreiber

2007-11-01T03:38:00.000-04:00

Daniel is a wonderful nature photographer and I tried to create a professional mark that would reflect his work somehow without getting too specific (no mountains or trees). I like the simple, natural feel of this monogram which was drawn on a napkin. The version at the upper right with the name and mark together is how it appears in most instances, but occasionally the mark is used alone.

Mediaworx

2007-10-31T22:42:00.000-04:00

MediaWorx billed themselves as media brokers for the digital age, able to seamlessly handle everything from traditional printing to exhibit and multimedia production. The logo started as a combination of the letters M and W which serendipitously looked like an infinity strip. I'm a firm believer that a successful logo can (and should) be the building block to an organization's entire identity. In this case, the inifinty strip led to me creating their tagline: "One source. Unlimited Possibilities."

Tina Williams Photography

2007-10-31T22:33:00.000-04:00

Tina is an energetic photographer with an outgoing personality. Recently, her logo was softened a bit to reflect her new emphasis on photographing children, but this original version is still my favorite.

Linden Mills

2007-10-31T15:44:00.000-04:00

Linden Mills is the new name of a southern-Virginia kitchen cabinet company. The new owner wanted to move them into the high-end market and needed a logo and identity that would reflect this positioning change. A logo's primary purpose is to identity, not necessarily tell exactly what a company does or sells and since kitchen cabinets are basically fancy boxes, I steered the client toward emphasizing "high-end" more than anything else. After some back-and-forth, I cooked up a fancy F combined with a leaf in a seal that resembled a saw blade, and the client knew we had hit the mark.

Land Design Consultants

2007-10-31T13:21:00.001-04:00

Land Design Consultants is one of the area's top land-planning firms. Simple, geometric shapes that suggest dividing up a parcel of land — and that form an L — make this logo work on several levels. The colors were chosen to reflect the red clay found in much of Virginia. Designed while I was at Hinge.

Reston's 40th Anniversary

2007-10-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

Designed for Reston's 40th Anniversary celebration, this symbol was meant to evoke the type of wooden neighborhood sign you might find in this planned community.

Sphere of Influence

2007-10-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

Sphere of Influence is an IT company that specializes in fixing projects that have gone bad in some way. IT companies are notoriously hard to design for because most do the same thing with very little differentiation. Luckily, the folks at Sphere had a lot of personality and wanted something that would stand out from the crowd of "swooshy" tech logos that were in vogue at the time. We gave them something dignified and confident with a touch of tech. Designed while I was at Hinge.

Namaste Feng Shui Consulting

2007-10-28T23:48:00.000-04:00

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment. Harmony is achieved in this logo by balancing the bold brush-stroke N with the calmer, spread out type of the name. Not being a practitioner myself, I had to rely on the client to make sure the logo itself had the proper Feng Shui.

Trioh Consulting

2007-10-28T13:14:00.000-04:00

Trioh provides technology consulting and wanted something that would fit in nicely with that sector. Three triangles combined to form another triangle, all moving upward seemed to fit the bill nicely. Again, it helps to have a nice name to work with. Designed while I was with Grasp Creative (the predecessor to Hinge).

How it All Started: Logos to Go

2007-10-03T21:53:00.001-04:00

For the longest time, I knew I wanted to be an architect, but a Commercial Art class I took in high school opened my eyes to the world of graphic design. I enjoyed it so much that a friend and I opened up a "business" designing logos. With a fondness for whimsical names, we named it Logos to Go and created this business card using press type and chart tape (a flexible tape used for creating information graphics back in the day).

We had it printed at one of those places that did thermographed (raised printing) cards dirt cheap, but only had a few colors available and only on certain days. The circles were filled in with markers to look like traffic lights to create a 4-color look. My mom — yes, my mom — came up with a tagline for us that we used on flyers: "Creative Genius for a Paltry Sum." I think we sold one logo — a stylized water buffalo for an importer of goods from Southeast Asia — for $50. Not a glamorous beginning, I know... : )

For Fun: The Happy Home

2007-10-02T14:10:00.000-04:00

I designed this while working on a project at Freddie Mac. After a while, you run out of interesting ways to depict houses so I was really delighted when I combined a house and a smiling face in a way I hadn't seen before. It turned out that it wasn't right for the job I was working on, but I kept it and hope to find a home for it at some point.

For Fun: Baby

2007-10-01T17:01:00.000-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to spend a rare day alone with my 7-year old daughter. She loves art, so much of the day was spent drawing and painting together and one of the things we did was contour line drawings (where you draw without looking at the paper or lifting your pencil) of each other. At one point, I drew her beloved Baby, a pink stuffed bear with a blanket for a body. It was fun to be able to just draw for fun and later I ended up turning the drawing into a logo (of course). Not sure what it would be for, but if you have a line of kids clothing or accessories and are looking for an identity, let's talk!

For Fun: Fuller Kids

2007-10-01T16:18:00.000-04:00

Not only do I enjoy designing logos for clients, I often do it for fun. In this case, I designed logos for my kids after they had seen me working at home on some freelance projects. They were curious about the process so I came up with some ideas while they sat with me. Caton (Caty) looks pretty much like his logo (when he's smiling, that is), Winona (Winnie) is our oldest and definitely acts like a first child and Aster is a type of flower so that was kind of a no-brainer. They seemed impressed and started making logos of their own that night. Later, my son (he's 8) said he was going to make logos and sell them to people, kind of like a lemonade stand, I guess. If only it were that easy... ; )

Fun: Three Donut Coma

2007-10-01T05:22:00.000-04:00

One of my "hobbies" is creating band names from words and phrases I overhear during the day. I probably have more than 100 names of imaginary bands collected over the years. There's something about the odd combination of certain words that just makes me grin. Occasionally, I'll turn one of the names into a logo, t-shirt or the beginnings of a full-fledged identity.

In this case, someone brought in doughnuts to work one day and, against my better judgement, I ate three before lunch. Later, I told a colleague I had no energy because I was experiencing a "Three-Donut Coma." My hope is to someday make a series of 3DC shirts, stickers and other rock-n-roll paraphernalia. The irony in all this is that I don't have a musical bone in my body...