The logo was inspired by the literal definition of the name, but in the context of the individual pausing mid-stride because of what they are passing by warrants notice and peaks their interest.

The logo stresses an certain ambiguity to whatever is in the frame/window so that it allows Passerby’s offerings to change over time as the company grows and possibly widens their market or offerings.  The figure was purposely rendered to convey not only a sense of style and fashion, but a mix of formal and casual.

The event is the first annual GIVE 5 DRIVE,  which establishes October 5th, 2011 as a one-day donation opportunity for the citizens of Paso Robles, California to simply give $5.00 towards supporting their city’s library. Their donation’s can be made in person at various local businesses who will have a donation box at their points-of-purchase as well as being able to make donations online. The donations will help fund most of the Library’s reading programs and material supplies.

For the event, the logo needed to have a very clean and modern approach for its general appeal, as well have a strong visual that helped convey the simple act of one generous act towards another.

The resulting solution is below…

Every now and than, I come across a logo that not only catches my eye for its simplicity, which is very crucial for a successful logo solution, but that has such a strong concept and its solution is stunning.

Take Nebraska-based graphic designer Sean Heisler for example.  It was his logo design for Killed Productions that first caught my eye and is a great example of my point.  Using the flagship of sans-serif typefaces, Helvetica, he created a simple yet brilliant idea to convey in this logo that uses nothing but it’s typography to communicate it.  Proceeding to his website, I found that his same creativity for simple, yet visually strong logo solutions extends to a large portfolio of logo work and is also exemplified in his own logo branding.

I love coming across a logo designer that is very much a man of my own heart and one that helps spur me on to strive towards that same greatness…

Behold greatness People….

Design 7 Studio

A customer walks into a somewhat dark and slightly smoky environment, rich chocolate leather sofas are set up all around down a narrow long room.  Animal furs are on the floor and over couches with African masks staring down at you and paintings lit up along the walls.  The bar is very industrial with an over-sized tap head.  Products available are many cigars from high to low end, mass market to boutique.  Fine Wines, and specialty imported beers from small Franconian and Belgian brewers.  Bands that are playing are mostly Blues and Jazz.  Food is not really themed in one direction.”

Elegant and refined, the logo was needed to be simple enough to just have b/w execution (from being embossed on appetizer menus to a simple reproduction on black polos shirts) yet needed to convey exclusivity and sophistication.  Drawing its inspiration from the swerving curls and flowing contours of cigar smoke and the unique shape of old cigar labels, the logo was crafted out to properly convey the client’s vision for the bar as well as appeal to the varied clientele that would enter its doors.

The vision for the logo had such clarity from the beginning, that after just an open conversation and a clear picture of what it needed to be, the logo below was crafted on the first round and only one was presented to the client. Certainly a rarity as most projects have at least 3 or 4 directions or concepts presented.

From the get-go, this was one logo that as I was sketching and the concept came to me, I just knew this was the one and there was no need to present the client with anything but that.  And Susan agreed….

Using the power of the instant freezing properties of liquid nitrogen, owners of Utah’s Fusion Freeze Creamery offer clients the ability not only choose their mix-ins, but the color of their ice cream, and a fusion of flavors that have endless possibilities.  Want to make purple, orange flavored ice cream? Done.  Want a soy-based cherry-flavored, green ice cream?  Done. Simply blasting the churring concoctions with science instantly freezes the blending cream within seconds and because it is so fast the ice crystals are smaller, and therefore the ice cream is creamier.  Don’t you just love science?

So when the owners thought about unveiling their new ice cream store, they went to Design 7 Studio to custom create a logo that not only conveyed a modern look, but had they market appeal they were looking for.

The result is simply delicious!  A logo that is bold, whimsical, and clean.

The concept for the resulting brand was inspired by the zen-like lotus flowers and thick straight bamboo to help convey the Eastern influence but with a modern typography and color palette that mirrored the modern Western culture. Designing the logo’s mark to reflect these properties helped give it a very simple, yet compelling look and allowed the simplified image of the acupuncture needle to take center stage but through context.  And the type treatment’s subtle curving forms in the “P” and “R” help make the logotype and mark cohesive.

That it is where Seattle-based design firm Turnstyle came in.  The design-ninjas up at the top left corner of the nation put their heads together and, in my opinion, hit it out of the park.  From the flourish of Caslon type-foundry comes a unique monogram logo that works wonderfully and playfully with the nautical nature of the store.

But they don’t just stop there.  From the finest details of the hangtag to the beautiful type arrangements on the business cards, Turnstyle shows they mean business when it comes to fabulous design.

I may just have to boast about some more out of these guys in a future blog…  For now, gaze at the wonder of KETCH.

I recently stumbled upon Los Angeles-based branding and web design firm Command-O (CMMD-O) and instantly loved the name (for which I love the thought of implied stealth and strength) and it has such a great use of abbreviation.

But what I loved even more was there very creative solution for a logo.  One so elementary that you too will ask yourself… “Duh, why didn’t come up with this a long time ago”.  It simplicity, yet elementary solution, is what I love about this logo.  It is iconic, symbolic, and yet reads like a pictogram.

To top it off, they even had the gall to design a beautiful business card to go with it.  Go figure… From the bold red, to the fully justified type filling the card space and solution for combining their email addresses and website url in one.  I guess their creative juices just wouldn’t shut off on this project.

Great job Team CMND-O!

Time to give a shout out to another graphic designer out there.

In this case, my kudos go to Austin, TX-based designer, Karl Hebert. I first stumbled upon his work when I came across the business cards for Pattern Productions, an Austin-based television production company.  He created this while being on staff with Spoonbend.

What was nice about this logo and identity project was that the client had zero pre-conceived ideas for their logo.  They just liked the name “Pattern”.  So, Karl decided to pay homage to the days of TV test patterns and as you can see below, the result was a fantastic logo and even better concept for their business cards.

Karl now flies solo under the umbrella of Gold Lunchbox and now works in France.

Keep up the great work Karl!