Design and Nature: A Natural Fit

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.

Fairfax Library Foundation

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.

Friends of Reston

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).

Fairfax Futures

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? : )

Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington

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.