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Logo Design for Pawsitive Purrspective - Petcare
The evolution of the Pawsitive Purrspective logo...
Pencil sketch
Black and white vector image
Colors applied
Thrive Allen County - First Annual Pedalfest
A month or so ago, I was contacted by Thrive Allen County, (a client I've done some work for in the past), about an up coming cycling event they were calling "Pedalfest". I was very happy and excited to get to be involved in yet another bicycle-related project. I was even more delighted when I found out they wanted a female cyclist for the design.
Last weekend (September 12, 2015) was the very first Pedalfest, in Iola, KS, and Thrive Allen County was so nice to post photos on various social media platforms. Here are just a few they posted that included many of the designs I did for them.
As a designer, it's really cool (and somewhat rare) to be able to see your work in action. Especially so for us, since our clients tend to be anywhere but local.
If you're interested in Thrive Allen County and the Pedalfest, please visit the links below:
Portland Alley Pedalfest Designs by Rolling Rook Studio
The Design Process (Infographic)
Developed this infographic to explain the way we design at Rolling Rook Studio...
Showing Your Work
Showing your work can be an important part of designing. If for no other reason than to give yourself an idea of how you work and perhaps even how you think. Showing your work gives you insight to your processes (which you don't necessarily have to share with the client).
Showing Our Work: Taking an idea, sketching it out on paper (bottom) and then turning it into a digital design (top).
I keep a client journal on my desk. Basically, it's a Moleskine® where I write things down, old school. It typically contains a page or two I've written up during my initial telephone interview with a client. I ask a few questions, then listen to their ideas about the design, (the more passionate their ideas, the better). While I listen, I write down key points about shapes, colors, thoughts about their ideal customers, descriptions of the service or product, and even the feelings that it conveys. If a visual pops into my head, I will sketch it out as well.
When it comes down to the design process, I start with an initial concept, and then walk away from it. Leaving a project and then coming back to it later is a great way to give it a fresh look. The second look is then shared and discussed with a second pair of eyes before it goes to the client for review.
At the beginning of 2015, Rolling Rook Studio took on a photographer and design partner who often serves as a second pair of eyes and creative director. It has changed the way we work for the better. Having another visual professional on hand to offer input on projects, has proven to be invaluable, and greatly improved our work.
Lessons Learned: Project 365
Not long after ringing in the New Year, just past midnight, on what was January 1, 2014, I started a project with the following pencil sketch...
This project just popped into my head and I proposed to myself that I would create 365 visual projects for the year 2014. Ideally, a project would be completed every day. It didn't matter what medium or how good or bad the project turned out. The goal was just to do it.
Like Frederick Franck's 5th commandment, "You shall not draw with exhibitions in mind, nor to please any critic but yourself", each project had no audience in mind. Many projects were inspired from current events, news, articles, tweets, and things my friends said or did. Some were, shall I say, "uninspired", yet others were filled with passion and creativity.
"Can of Unknown" is some sort of mystery food from a video game that my friends play online.
There were days that I wanted to quit. Just like most human beings, I might feel overwhelmed, bored or tired. Some days I wondered what I was thinking on January 1st so early in the morning (affected by lack of sleep more than champagne). Then there were days where I was brimming with ideas and creativity, or inspiration inexplicably coursed through my veins. On those days, I might catch up on a week's worth of creative pieces or get ahead of the project entirely.
I'll admit, a few of the projects were design ideas or illustrations that my clients rejected. Being their creator, I had grown fond of them and thought they deserved a life elsewhere, so I went ahead and allowed them to develop. I often thought, if nothing else, it was good practice.
Rook
In the end, I have a project that no one really cares about, but me...a body of work... 365 images, designs, digital and ink illustrations, pencil drawings, and photographs. They are all mine and I made them. They prove to me that I can accomplish something, that I can stick with something (for better or worse) and in the process, learn from my mistakes, improve and learn. I have most certainly honed my skills in planning, design, composition, color, and execution. My knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have grown immensely. By posting many of these projects to social media, I've learned about who "likes" what and where. I've learned about hashtags and I've seen a keen interest in people wanting to get back to the basics (pencils, pens and paintbrushes, rather than pixels and vectors).
Would I recommend such a project? Most definitely! I believe in pushing yourself to see how far you can go. Just like when I'm out riding my bicycle and I hit 15 miles with 10 more left to get home. The thought occurs to me to quit, rest, hitch a ride, but I just can't. I just won't give up (even though, sometimes I probably should).
In the past 6 years I've ridden half of century (50 miles) twice. I've reached the point of exhaustion and feeling like I just couldn't keep going (particularly on the Hilly Hundred), but in the end, it's all worth the endurance (and the hot shower) for there is a certain joy that comes with knowing you can take something on and see it through.
But, have you ever done a logo for a flea circus?
Clients will sometimes ask for examples of work that you, or your studio, has done for other clients that are in the same business or similar industry. As a designer, this often throws me for a loop. Especially if it is something we've never done before. Sometimes I even find it a little daunting, as if somehow we're not worthy.
The first logo I ever designed, which is still in service to this day was an ark with a rainbow over it for a company called Apartment Relocation Konsultants. That was in 1987 and I've been designing in some capacity or another ever since.
Back in 1987, we didn't have Adobe software, or even computers for that matter. Logos were hand drawn (in black) and then photographed for printing. No one asked me if I'd ever done a logo for an apartment relocation service or any logo at all, for that matter (SCHWEW!). Back then, I was a creative young artist, about to go to college with dreams of learning to paint like the masters and becoming famous someday. We didn't have the internet, websites, or email. Clients were met in person, in your neighborhood, on the street, in hotels, bars, door-to-door, word of mouth, over the telephone, etc. We weren't anonymous entities floating in the aether, you actually had to get to know people and schmooze your way in. Today, everything has changed.
Today I have clients whom I have never seen or even spoken to. We work their designs out via email, Creative Cloud, and DropBox then exchange payments via PayPal. We know nothing of each other, and no one seems to care. We get it done and move on to the next project.
So, I kind of understand, when a potential client reaches out through the aether and requests a quote for their "flea circus", then wants to see examples of all the other "flea circus" logos I've done. (Which, at this time, (in case you hadn't guessed), is an absolute ZERO, by the way.)
At this point, I grow perplexed and think, "Just because I've never done a flea circus logo before doesn't make me any less of a designer or creative. Why do they need to see someone else's logo? Do they need ideas? Should I make up some bogus flea circus logo to win their trust? How do I convince them that I'm the right designer for them? Can I just direct them to other projects I've done and still convince them? Are they the right client for me?"
True, in life, as in art, there is a "first time for everything", but how do you handle that awkward situation and make them realize that just because you've never done a flea circus logo, doesn't mean you can't?
Case in point...
