As a creative design artist and consultant, I love it when we get to work with small businesses to develop a logo. What’s even more fun is when I get to do the entire brand – a logo, a website, social media and print design collateral.
We just completed a fun but fast turn-around logo and branding project for 901 Tree Services. Got the business cards in today and I just had to post how much we love the matte finish with the wood grain pattern. It really gives it a natural realistic feel, but was only a fraction of the cost of real wood cards… yes they do make those here: mywoodbusinesscard.com
The first draft logo concept was originally flat green, the obvious colors for a tree service right. However, another idea we had was make it look like wood. I Found the perfect wood grain pattern at PSDGraphics.com. By the way, psdgraphics.com is a great resource I found myself browsing many times.
I simply made a duplicate of the vector shape I created in Adobe Illustrator and pasted it into Adobe Photoshop as a vector smart object. While in Photoshop, I made a selection from the vector smart object (on the same layer; hold {command + click}). Next I masked the wood pattern by simply copying {command + C} from the wood grain layer and {command +V} pasting to create a new layer. Last, I used a color curve to give it the burnt look.
As soon as we showed it to the client, it was an instant WIN!!! They loved it at first sight.
It was a fun project and 901 Tree Services was great to work with. There is more on this project to come.
Davis Lawn is a full-service lawn care company in DeSoto County that merged from two companies a lawn maintenance, and a weed control – spray business. Novagiant was hired to replace the old logo and design an eye-catching, colorful logo that brought the two businesses into one that fit the business personality.
After some brand research brainstorming and working closely with Davis Lawn, together we were able to design a logo that both Davis Lawn and Novagiant is proud of. The creative process of designing a logo can take on several phases as you will see from the concepts that lead us to the final logo for Davis Lawn. Before we dig into this case study. Heres the before and after.
Old Logo (before)
New Logo (after)
The best part of branding and logo design is the reward of more than just a happy customer but also seeing the logo after the project is complete. You might see it on a billboard driving around town or in a magazine, in a digital ad or website.
Although the client liked the first concept designs. We felt like there was something more specific to Davis Lawn we could come up with. One of the ideas was to integrate a leaf shape out of the letter D and, still tie in the lawn and spray side of the business.
Now we had a logo that captured the sweet spot of a brandable logo design and it ties in perfectly with the business. However, we just needed to fine-tune a few of the graphic details. One small adjustment that made a big impact was the position of the leaf. Take a look at the image above, notice how the leaf position on the right allows for more blue coloring. This adds more contrast to the logo and helps the logo stand out more.
This business is now ready for a professional marketing strategy. A targeted approach to communicating with new customers with signs & banners, spray & service truck decals, website design and more.
Melange Salon is an exclusive Paul Mitchell focus salon in Olive Branch, Mississippi. This is a place where time stops and your everyday cares are washed away by the incredible scalp massage included with every shampoo. Their award-winning color bar boasts endless color possibilities and a unique approach to the services offered.
Owner Ramona Callahan approached Novagiant about re-branding the logo. During the meeting, Ramona explained the meaning behind the name Melange “a mixture”. That being said, one of Melange Salon’s key specialties is hair color. We knew we needed some logo designs that build on the concept of color, mixture, and style but also the Melange Salon experience and culture.
Part of the logo design process is taking notes during the client meeting on the discussion of the meaning of the name, the personality of the business, the business approach and how the would like their customers to see their business. Some of the associated words to describe the meaning behind the business. I recall writing down some words like this for example:
Hare are some of the basic concepts that lead up to the final logo design.
