Personal Project: Beer Bottle Relabeling

My brother just turned 40 so I made him some over-the-hill OLD-inspired labels to replace the real ones on a few fairly nice brews I picked up for him. I didn’t feel like wasting money on a gag gift, but wanted to get him at least a little something to remind him how old he is getting. I started with a Google search and found plenty of source material. A few minutes in Photoshop on each one replacing and adding text where appropriate and the final result turned out fantastic. I removed the original beer labels by soaking them in water for about 10-15 minutes and then peeling them off. To attach the new beer labels I used some double-sided tape which worked perfectly to keep them nice and smooth on the bottle. This was a real easy way to add a personal touch to gift. I’m thinking about doing this for more people as the holiday season approaches.

Check them all out here.

And the final result:

Are you ready for some football?

I am. I am ready for the Philadelphia Eagles to get this season started. Some say this is the most important season in team history. I say it’s just as important as any other. Expectations are always high here in Philly. This year is no exception. In order to get everyone as excited as I am – why not download some Philadelphia Eagles iPhone 4/4s lock screen and home screen images and show everyone how you feel about Da’ Birds? The lock screen features the Eagles logo and the home screen is simply Eagles green so that you can still clearly see your app icons. Make sure you download both images separately and get your Settings straight.

In the meantime, enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IXf3nGBigQ

Download Philadelphia Eagles iPhone Wallpapers

• Lock Screen
• Home Screen

Siousca Photography Branding Sketches

I’ve been working on some branding for an awesome photographer and good friend of mine Dave Waddell of Siousca Photography. I thought I’d share a quick sneak peek of the research and progress so far from my trusty Moleskine. You can see some inspiration on the left, the original logo on the top of the right hand page and a bunch of concepts following that. Siousca is the Native American term for the land around the Brandywine river which is where Dave grew up. So there is definitely a bend towards that.

Hopefully, I’ll be wrapping this up soon, as I know Dave is patiently waiting. I’ll be sure to post some more on this one as it has been a blast to work on. In the meantime, if you need a photographer for weddings, engagements or family photos, check Dave out.

A good friend of mine remodels homes and runs his own company, Wilkinson Remodeling. As the company was growing he realized he needed an updated look. Nothing was wrong with his old logo (see below), but it was time to step up his identity to match the success of his business. He does great work, by the way, so if you are in the South East Pennsylvania area and are planning a project – hit him up.

Original Logo

1. Concept

I had a few ideas from the beginning about how he could set himself apart from the competition. But what I really wanted to do for him was create something that said ‘Hey, I built this with my hands. And it’s better than anything you could buy from a big box store or get shopping in a catalog.’ Cause that’s the kind of work he does. So I went for this quality, handcrafted look – and I needed it to be about homes and construction. A Continuous Lean was a big inspiration, both the branding itself and the images, products and stories featured on the blog. So… here is my first round of sketches.

2. Sketches

3. Early Concepts

Of course, as all good clients do – he had a few ideas of his own. I made some suggestions, provided some ideas and here is the first round of slightly refined logo concepts. The bottom middle happened to be my favorite. Perhaps it was a bit too rugged for the high-end homes he was working on. But man, it sure is true to what he does.

 4. Final

We decided on a combination of my favorite and a much less jagged version and landed on what you see below. We added in the shield to show some of the craftsman feel and make a nod to the founding date. Being around for more than 5 years in the home biz during a down market is quite impressive. I should also mention the logo makes use of the Bebas font which you can find over at Font Squirrel.

Final Wilkinson Remodeling logo.

5. Bonus Content

I made some mock-ups of what the logo could look like in a series of small ads. I really like the whole look behind ‘Quality Craftsmanship Guaranteed’ that you can see in some of my sketches.

All in all, a great project and a great client. A strong identity that could have easily been just another construction company.

Father of Gravity Makes Doodle Move

In honor of Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday, Google introduces the first Doodle to use animation. It seems fitting that Google used JavaScript instead of Flash or an Animated GIF to produce the effect. That would have been like cheating. Instead, they created a simple equation to help “explain” why the apple falls. Just as Newton helped explain the Universal Law of Gravitation through a calculus-like method of geometrical analysis, Google uses an interval function to make the apple drop.

Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian is generally regarded as one of the most influential scientists in history. I’m not sure how he found the time to do all of that, but he he also found time to write the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy). One of the most influential books in scientific history.

Google Doodle Drop

Image from Amit Agarwal

Wow. This is awesome.

An Oakland Raiders mascot with an extremely crowd- friendly moustache. I found this logo (circa 1970-something-awesome) when looking for old NFL logos and I just knew I had to do something with this picture. The guy above is a perfect embodiment of what the Raiders stand for; I really don’t need to say anything else. I just remember growing up with friends whose dad was a big Raiders fan. I’m not really sure how Oakland got to claim the color black as their own, there’s plenty of teams who have black as their main or alternate uniform color. In any case, no Starter jackets or beanies here, just plain old Raiders fun. Check out the current logo below. Not much has  changed except for the nice little shaving o’ the stache.  See for yourself:

If you are all as sad as I am that they decided to forgo the ‘stache in order to clean up their misery, go over here to do some Moustache Reminiscing.

***DISCLAIMER – I am not an Oakland Raiders fan.  I belong to the Philadelphia Eagles. Fly Eagles, Fly!

D&D Vending, LLC is a brand new, full-service vending machine company based in Coatesville, PA. They not only sell and distribute any and all vending machines (soda, snack, video) they also service them for you. Which is great, because the last thing you want to do is try and repair your snack machine yourself.

1. Concept

After speaking with D&D, it was clear they wanted one thing – something unique. They didn’t care so much if it was fancy and fresh or simple and straightforward. But one thing was for sure, they wanted it to be their own. And that is a great thing for a designer to hear because that means we are free to experiment a little bit.

2. Sketches

Back to the trusty Moleskine Plain Soft Notebook – Pocket size (buy):

3. Mock Up

The circle logo was decided on for it’s similarity to a coin, the retro feel of the type, the simplicity of the initials and it’s flexibility.  Below are a few versions of the D&D in a circle.

4. Final

It wasn’t hard to decide on the retro font Deftone Stylus. You can find it over here at Font Squirrel, a great site. I adjusted the white space around the initials and fit everything into the circle a little cleaner.

Here’s a detailed version on a red background:

5. BONUS CONTENT!!!

Here’s a concept I was REALLY keen on. It’s based on a stylized version of a vending machine and transforms a logo into a character that really takes on the personality of the company. It developed after I was trying to draw a 3D perspective of a vending machine in Illustrator and I ended up with a wonderful mistake. It’s so unique it’s hard not to fall in love with it. I still think it has a lot of potential but for now he’ll just live on in my mind.

In any case, developing a visual identity for D&D has been fun and I am already working on converting this into a complete identity including print and web.

My wife likes to remind me when we’re out to eat that there are other things on the menu besides cheeseburgers. What? I beg to differ.

I don’t know where my love of burgers comes from originally, but I do I remember going to Hardee’s on Millersville Pike as a kid vividly. (It’s not there anymore.) Specifically, I remember the first time I looked at the logo and realized the “a” and “e” were the same letter forms. I was so proud of myself. Let’s take a look at the logo below.

The shape is flipped 180 degrees and is actually a bit rounded out on the “e”.  The leading edge of the letter form is also angled slightly different but that’s because of the faux perspective they put on it. The angles would be off if it were not adjusted. So it’s not exactly the same shape, but close enough.

Sadly, Hardee’s is now Carl’s Jr. of which we have none, and the super text logo is gone in favor of a star and script. I’m not sure what about the star says “good burgers” but I wish the would have the opportunity to find out.

You can read more about this logo over at Brand New by Under Consideration.

Here’s a collection of alternate Citadel logos I’ve developed over the years. Citadel has a well established brand and it’s important to use that visual recognition when introducing a new concept, product or service pledge. In the various logos below I’ve carried over color, shape, font and feel to extend the original Citadel logo.  A few of them are subtle but each of them add new meaning and a unique twist.

1.

Citadel Class Service Customer service pledge

2.

Citadel TV In-house television network

3.

Safe, Sound and Secure Logo designed in response to financial crisis

4.

Market Rate CD Promotional product logo

5.

Switch Kit Logo for branded online bank account migration

A bar. An Irish bar. An Irish bar that loves the Phillies.

An Irish bar that loves the Phillies and needs a logo?

Talk about a dream job! The combination of those four magical things led to the development of the Doachie McHugh’s bar logo. Let’s walk through the process of creating a logo from start to finish to get a feel for the entire creative process from initial concept sketch to finished logo.

1. Concept

The concept is an Irish bar who loves the Philadelphia Phillies. Simple enough. Let’s get started with some rough sketches. This hand drawn step is very important to get a lot of ideas out quickly and to get an idea of what looks best on paper before you sit down at a computer. The more the merrier, so here’s a sample of the concepts I sketched out for Doachie McHugh’s.

You can see the traditional Irish claddagh in the sketch above and the eventual Phillie-esque shapes start to come alive .

Some of the type and outlining is starting to come alive here.

Some explorations of the home plate shape to outline the logo and incorporate the baseball theme.

2. Sketches

After seeing some initial thoughts come to life and sharing them with the client, it’s time to give the best concepts a little more thought. At this point I like to move from pencil/pen/sharpie into pencil/color marker mock up. The crown from the claddagh was chosen along with the baseball for the letter “O” and a base for the outlining shape.

3. Mock Up

After sharing the color markup sketches with the client some final decisions are made. Make it more like the Phillies logo, use the rounded top home plate shape and add some more color, like blue and red!

4. Final

Some final color selections have been made and we have a completed logo. This is the point where I take the sketches and scans and move them into Photoshop and then later Illustrator to add the polish.

5.Conclusion

You can see how important it is to work through this process from sketch to completion based on the final rendering. I’ll readily admit that I don’t do this on every project due to time or budget… but I’m always much more satisfied with results when I do!