One of the best parts of my job is getting an inside look into businesses outside my field of work. When I begin my research for a new client I try to learn everything I can about what they do. This helps prepare me for the branding process, but it also allows me to get a peek into a business I knew nothing about previously.

Associated Painters contacted me a few months to create a new logo for their airplane painting business. They are opening a new facility in Spokane Washington and wanted to find a local designer to help them update their logo. I was delighted to be contacted and always appreciate other groups looking for local talent. To give you some background here is a brief summary of just what they do:

For over three decades Associated Painters, Inc. (AP) has been in the business of painting commercial aircraft. With over two thousand aircraft painted to date AP has emerged in the aerospace industry as ‘the’ service provider of choice for aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, modification centers like Aviation Technical Services, Inc. in Everett, Washington and AAR Aviation Services – Oklahoma…as well as scores of international and domestic airline companies.

The work they do is both challenging and creative. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became with the process of painting commercial airplanes. Needless to say I was excited to start brainstorming ideas.

Design Brief

As always I started off by having Associated Painters fill out my logo questionnaire. This helps give me a background with regards to their business, competition, how the logos will be used, etc. Reading over the questionnaire and after a few phone calls I put together a list what they wanted a logo to convey:

• Superior Quality
• Painting Airplanes
• Reputation
• Class
• Honesty
• Timely Delivery of Services

Initial Designs

On the top of their list was a logo that conveyed the idea that “these guys paint airplanes”. Based on this concept I created an initial round of logos that clearly ties together the imagery of an airplane with painting. While I knew they did not paint the planes with “paint brushes” I knew that this would be the most easily recognizable graphic to relay the idea of painting.

A few initial logo ideas for Associated Painters

Understandably, Associated Painters did not feel the paint brush was appropriate (or accurate) so we decided to look at designs that were a little more abstract, but still gave a clear indication of their work with planes. The second round (shown below) produced logos that they felt were more appropriate and interesting.

Second round of logo options for Associated Painters

I took the second round of logos and played around with the idea of using various shapes to produce the outline of the plane. I was also inspired by the way Associated Painters used different sets of shapes to paint the various images onto their planes. This lead to a logo design that Associated Painters chose to finalize.

Associated Painters Logo Plane Element

The plane’s outline is seen within the negative space of the three arrow-like shapes. I find that logos are always more interesting if the viewer has to take a few seconds to realize what it is they are looking at. This also gives them an “Aha!” moment once they see the shape of the plane.

Associated Painters Logo Angles & Shapes

To give the logo a unified structure I made sure that all of the elements shared the same angles. This helped make the shapes cohesive and allowed repetition within the mark.

Color Options

As always I present the initial logo ideas in simple black and white (or grayscale when appropriate). I don’t like to move on to color until the logo has been approved. This is because color options alone can be infinite and can distract from the design of the mark which should be able to stand on its own.

Associated Painters Logo in Black & White

Color Options for Associated Painters Logo

Looking over the various competitors for Associated Painters I decided to use warmer colors that offered some depth to the logo. Many of their competitors had gone with what I like to call “business blue” which is a basic medium blue. It is a safe and professional color, but does nothing to differentiate you and your business. I played with tint and color combinations to give them a few variations to look over.

Final Associated Painters Logo Colors

The final colors that Associated Painters chose are a dark blue and a copper. This combination gives a professional feel that is unique within their industry.

Final Logo Design

Associated Painters Final Logo Design

We played with a few different typefaces for their name and settled on a clean font that helps add to the forward moving feel of the logomark.

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Logo Orange

Logo Orange Design Group is a design and branding agency based out of Paris, France. Here are a few great branding and identity resources they offer on their website:

• The Big Page of Branding & Corporate Identity Resources
• Design a Custom Corporate Identity
• The Corporate Identity Manual

Major Branding Terms

I always enjoy a clever concept and this is a great one. Kirk Littell and George Potts of Kolbrener have compiled a list of major branding terms using the idea of a “Periodic Table”.

• Table of Brand Evolution Terms

Logo Design Love

Who doesn’t like free? Logo designer David Airey has graciously given away a free chapter from his book Logo Design Love which covers all areas of logo and brand design and implementation.

• Free Chapter of Logo Design Love

Identity Guidelines

And finally here are a few examples of brand and identity manuals used by various companies and institutions.

• Cambridge University Identity Guidelines
• Honeywell Brand Guidelines
• Heineken International Brand & Company Visual Identity
• TNT Brand Web

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Insyndia is a new IT consulting company that asked me to help create a unique identity for their business. I was excited to help a business start fresh from the ground up. After having them fill out an initial logo questionnaire I began building a design brief and sketching out my ideas. Here is a brief excerpt from Insyndia‘s website to give you some background about the services they offer:

We tailor services to your realistic needs and budgets. From day-to-day operational support and application development, to strategic reengineering of infrastructure and network architecture – we strive to meet your specific needs in a way that provides your organization with the necessary scalability you need to remain competitive. At Insyndia, there’s no one-size-fits-all methodology, but together we’ll forge a technology management and support relationship that’s best for your organization, both today and well into the future.

Insyndia Logo Design Brief & Sketches

Design Brief
Because Insyndia was a brand new business I started the design process by gathering key words and concepts that the company wanted to portray. Based on their initial emails and questionnaire I narrowed down the key words to the following:

• Nurturing
• Innovative
• Trustworthy
• Transparent
• Loyal
• Unfailing Ethics
• Passionate
• Service Oriented

I then took these keywords and set out to create a variety of logo options that would represent the ideals of the company. It was very important to Insyndia that they have a logo that was clean, simple, and effective.

Logo Options

The more information I gathered the more I saw a pattern begin to emerge in the form of the letter “i.” The letter “i” was found twice in the word Insyndia as well as in the company’s tagline: imagine. ignite. inspire. I decided to build my logo designs around the idea and form of the letter “i.”

A Few Unused Insyndia Logo Options

After looking over a few of my initial logo options they narrowed it down to one that they wanted to move forward with. The logo they chose was based on two sets of arcing circles which were aligned around a central circle. One arc of circles represented Insyndia, while the other represented the client. Both arcs are shown coming together around a central circle which represented the project at hand. The logo also took the shape of an “eye” which became a play on the letter “i” as well as conveying the attention to detail that Insyndia represents.

Insyndia Logo Mark

Next, I chose a few simple yet unique fonts to work with the logo mark. After the mark and the font were finalized I began setting up the structure of the logo to give it uniformity and balance. Spacing was key to give the logo room to breathe.

Insyndia Logo Mark Structure

Color Options

Before moving on to color I showed how the logo worked in simple black and white. While the logo may not appear in black and white that often it still must be able to hold up as an effective design without the need for color.

Insyndia Logo Black & White Options

We were finally ready to start exploring color. This can sometimes be the toughest part due to the countless number of color options available. I sent over a few dozen color options as a jumping off point. The client felt the first round of colors were too bright and not professional enough.

They knew a lot of their business would be contracted through the government and they wanted to make sure their logo appealed to that demographic. I began creating darker color palettes that felt more appropriate for Insyndia. A blue and a gray were ultimately chosen as Insyndia’s color palette.

A Few Insyndia Logo Color Options

Insyndia Logo Final Color Palette

While the blue and gray were chosen for the logo, the client also liked how the logo looked in white on a colored background. We made sure the logo could easily be seen when it appeared in white against the new color palette.

Insyndia Logo Color Options

The Final Logo Design

The final Insyndia logo design is clean and inviting. The structure gives the logo balance while the color palette offers a professional look and feel.

Insyndia Logo Final

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• Interiors Journal Printed

When asked what I charge for my logo designs I usually get a kind response saying we will be in touch, never to hear from the person again. I think many times people don’t realize what goes into the logo design process. The above video by Brian White of TriLion Studios is a great example of what it takes to create a logo. Keep in mind he is only working on one logo concept and isn’t even showing the time it takes to generate and sketch initial ideas, meet with clients, or build a design brief. A great logo designer will not only make something that is visually eye-catching, but also conceptually sound.

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I always enjoy doing design work for groups that help make a difference in the community. That is why I was excited to be asked to design the look for the 2009 Grape & Grain event, an annual fund-raiser for the Spokane Advertising Federation. Here is a brief description of the event and how it benefits the Spokane community:

Grape & Grain is Spokane’s premier wine and beer event featuring some of the northwest’s finest wineries and breweries. The tasting and auction is one of AAF Spokane’s major fundraising events. AAF Spokane is a non-profit organization, dating back to 1901, that in addition to hosting luncheons with nationally known experts in the advertising industry, it also provides scholarship and internship opportunities to area college students.

Design Brief
Being a recipient of two scholarships given out by the Spokane Advertising Federation I was happy to help out with branding the Grape & Grain event for 2009. After discussing the event with the Spokane Ad Fed I found out I was free to brand the event in any way I saw fit. I began by making a list of everything that the event had to offer. The list included:

• Sampling Foods
• Socializing
• Beer Tasting
• Wine Tasting
• Eating
• Buying
• Supporting Students
• Bidding on Items

As I continued to create my list I noticed that it grew AND grew AND grew and that’s when I decided to focus my design on the ampersand. The ampersand could be pulled from the event’s name (Grape & Grain) and be used as a single element that linked all of the event’s attributes together.

Grape & Grain Initial Logo Sketches

Grape & Grain Sketches

Grape & Grain Sketches

Because I wanted to focus on using the ampersand to tie the event together I started incorporating the physical shapes of a “grape” and a stalk of “grain” into the ampersand. I looked at dozens of ampersands from various fonts but wasn’t satisfied with any of them.

I decided my best option was to create my own ampersand that would perfectly showcase the grape and grain forms. I used the ampersand’s counter form to make the shape of a grape. I then created the stalk of grain as an offshoot of the ampersands stroke.

Initial Design In Black and White

Grape and Grain Created Using Form and Counter Form

Next I began looking at color options. I knew everything would be printed in full color so I wouldn’t be limited to the number of colors I could use. In order to make sure the grape was easily recognizable I chose a deep red color to represent “red wine” in the grape’s counter form.

The more I thought about the relationship of the grape and grain, the more I realized both depended on sunlight to thrive. I decided to round out the color palette with a tan to represent the grain and an orange to represent the sun.

Final Color Palette

Grape & Grain Color Palette

Finally, I used a clean san-serif font for the title of the event below the ampersand logo. I chose to use white on the wordmark and picked up the white on the grain and in the reflection of the grape. I initially used the tan color on the grain but decided it complicated the logo with an unnecessary fourth color, especially since I felt the grain could be recognized with or without the tan color.

In order to pick up the tan color representing the grain I used it on all the collateral pieces. I also used the tan bars to list the words representing the event, all of which were separated by the ampersand created for the logo.

Supporting Graphics

Grape & Grain Supporting Graphics

The Final Design

Final Grape & Grain Logo Design

The final design effectively condensed the Grape & Grain event into a single logo. Although it was only used for 2009 I was extremely pleased with the completed look of both the logo and the collateral pieces advertising the event.

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