Decided to get out this canvas I started a year ago and finish it…it may not be done, but playing with color was a blast. That led to some time on the water sailing TARA with my boyfriend and shooting some footage of me putting away the sails which led to this not-so-serious quick video of my weekend. (the tool? Final Cut). An RBC production.
Archive for May, 2010
Painting and Sailing and Nothing too Serious
Monday, May 31st, 2010Don’t Design in a Vacuum
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010Were the words of my instructor in art school. Those words stuck to me like dried paint. My work is far from formulaic and that’s evident in viewing my portfolio, yet even I need reminders to not fall into ‘yee old design solution’ rut. My recent antidote? IMPROV. Now in my second week of classes and my brain is being scrambled, my inhibitions exposed, my sense of listening heightened, my idea of play broadened, my timing sharpened….and I have several more weeks. Chris Friday and Christine Alexander of Lazy Fairy Improv Troupe are a dynamic team. Tons of talent, tons of skills, and tons of fun! Maria Lyle put her wit aside for the evening and shot these photographs. This can only make me a better designer and person. In a word, go play!
Logo Redesign for Cycling Business
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010As a cyclist, I was jazzed when Dave Holm approached me to give his current logo a reface. Not surprisingly cycling is in his blood, given his parents opened the doors of Sarasota Schwinn Cyclery in 1969 — fast forward a good four decades and the changes are evident. Updated name – Sarasota Cycle. Major TREK dealer. And a newly-designed space that showcases everything from gear to beach cruisers to high-end road bikes that any ardent cyclist would thirst for. Obviously the logo had evolved, yet it still didn’t represent the sleek, modern, approachable, energized, expansive look of his store.
After Dave and I discussed his current logo (see attached), its use, its shortcomings, the direction of the store, the desired look, etc., I knew the updated logo had to be simple, sleek, identifiable, modern, bold, stylized.
My first sketches led to the following ideas. I wanted to create a logo mark, symbol that would support the name, Sarasota Cycle. The client wanted to incorporate the cog. Or some recognizable bike part. It needed to be edgy, and a bit masculine. Appeal to people who are active and embrace the outdoors. Following are a few of the ideas I presented. These came from pages of roughs; moving thinking into visual form.
Which led to this more finished look, which I created in Adobe Illustrator. Sketches are great for generating ideas quickly and keeping my mind flexible and the hand and right brain synced up, but it doesn’t always execute well…in other words, once I start solving the problems of shape and form, balance, etc. my cool idea may stink. These were the more developed roughs I presented. Still no color. If the logo won’t stand on its own in black-and-white, color shouldn’t be its saving grace. Color is influential. It distracts. It emotes. Solid design first. None of these solved the problem. My job is to design a logo that meets the requirements the client and I established in the beginning. Sure, those can change and lead to better questions, and more accurate solutions, but you gotta start somewhere.
I researched more typography. We scrapped the cog idea and concentrated on a graphic treatment for the company name. I combined fonts that reflected movement, casual yet somewhat controlled, masculine, etc. It started to come together. Going back to the drawing board led to these ideas and more.
Now I had logo options that were on target. The client liked the use of shape, typography, etc. What follows is the final logo that went through many more tweaks, finessing the swash on the “y”and “l”, modifying the oval of the arc, introducing color, determining if the Pantone and CMYK build translated, etc. The client loves the logo and we’re incorporating it into signage, tags, decals, etc.
