Not The Father...

25 Years Ago

August 1989. 25 years ago almost to the exact day I was hanging with these guys...

(You won't be able to see it on iPhone)

                         Too hot to handle, too cold to hold...

Swim Team Sports Logo

The original logo.

The final version of my revised logo.

Earlier this year I was asked to redesign a logo for a local kids swim team (see logo above) that could definitely use a change. Sports logos are pretty interesting and a great way to incorporate objects and or animals with type.

The first design for the logotype. Ooh barracuda... 

The second design for the logotype. 

Third design is looking better and more sports oriented. 

You can never go wrong with a script and a tail. The fourth design

I started off playing around with logotypes (above) and color and came up with four very different designs. Lots of clients ask for a variety of styles when developing a new logo.

Initial illustration of the barracuda has issues with the tail.

Second version with colorway changed and shape, anatomy and curve of tail fixed.

I liked this version of the logo. I thought that the barracuda looked like it was jumping into the water that sits inside the Barracuda lettering. The name Brandywine fit well under the jaw of the fish. Additional detail and shading has been added and the tooth pattern changed.

An alternative version with thin to thick lines in place of the water.

My favorite version of all the logos, I think the colors work well together and it looks like a sports logo with the inclusion of the new script and tail lettering. 

The fins have been changed and the oval (which I liked) has been removed. The final version of the logo is complete and approved by customer. However, the project is subsequently scrapped when the customer could not pay for the work.

China Photo Adventures Logo

Eleanor Moseman, my awesome friend and VCU alumni homegirl recently asked me to do a logo for a new project of hers called China Photo Adventure. Those are three words that partially describe her, but they are also things Ellen positively knows a lot about since she bicycled close to 15,000 miles (mostly solo)   documenting the landscape and people of China and the central Asian borderlands.

The design needed to incorporate a few things: Eleanor wanted a logo with art deco elements but was still modern in appearance. It needed to be simple, to the point but yet elegant.

I first started out drawing the architecture of this Chinese temple based on an image found online. At this point in the process I'm more concerned with composition that color harmony, so not all the colors are really suitable. An invented Chinese style panel was created and the type placed within. It's not great work, but it's a start.

The original temple design is shot down and replaced with a different, somewhat less phallic (look it up) one. The new temple visually works better because its wider and anchors the design to the bottom of the logo. I'm a big fan of Michael Schwab's work and thought something simple, like the example of Chinese architecture set in a dark color with bold, in front of the Great Wall of China against a bright sky would work well. Personally, I like the top middle design and think it would make a strong poster.

Bottom Right: Early, bad logo with a shutter.

Eleanor suggested that maybe the logo should be even simpler and omit the architecture and Great Wall altogether, so I focused on just that. I came up with the examples above and made a series of them varying them in shape.

Eleanor tweaked the colors on the logo and was ready to use it. I think it works well both on a white and a black background.

The final logo in use on  Eleanor's website.

Eleanor Moseman currently resides in Shanghai, China. Read the often edge-of-your-seat true stories of her travels and adventures on The Wander Cyclist:

Look at Eleanor's photography on her website here:

Check out her new venture, China Photo Adventure:

You Can't Win 'Em All

A few moths ago I took part in the redesign of the internal company email newsletter logo where I work. They give out iPad's here for prizes, so of course I'm going to throw down. Our company's unofficial mascot is a penguin so he needed to be included in the criteria for the design.

Illustrate a penguin. Check. Vary the fonts, vary the cases. Check. Vary the colors. Check. Line everything up so it looks nice. Check. The first draft of the newsletter logo included the company name. Design is submitted and I can smell that new iPad...

By request, the company name was removed and subtitle text and weight is changed and bold formatting removed (which I don't like), but I think it's still a strong design. Design is submitted and I'm thinking that iPad is mine; I work on an acceptance speech.

The winning design (above) is chosen. 

Paintings

I've been doing quite a few painting in the last 9 months and this is two of the most recent ones. I like the bigger canvasses and will probably stick with 3 foot by 4 foot size. For the first time since I started painting, I took photos along the way to show the progress. 

This painting was a little different since I started with a few thick coats of cadmium orange hue applied with a small paint roller. After that dried I started drawing out the character with a thin black acrylic paint marker.

All the details have been drawn in and the white outline started. 

Thickening up the areas where the fill will be black.

Filling in the flesh tones.

The only difference between the above and below photo is the black fill. Makes a pretty huge difference.

Aside from the white outline, I think I could have stopped here and been satisfied with the results.

The finished painting.

The new Liquitex acrylic paint markers are phenomenal and have brought me back into making hand drawn art again. The paint marker colors are matched to the Liquitex tube paint.

Another one I worked on around the same time.

Not 100% satisfied with how this one turned out, so I might redo it as my next project.

Millencolin - Black Gold