If non-voters started voting for outliers who live their morals, our democracy would change completely in less than a decade.

Seth Godin

Winter is coming here, so get your Powder Day Saint T’s while they’re still in stock. Use code WINTERISCOMING to take 10% off at checkout.

Shop Now

We left off with Part 2 of my logo process with a set of refined sketches. The next step is presenting the sketches to the client and determine a final direction, as well as gather any potential feedback they may have. In this case, the client felt the above sketch best communicated the intended brand and most reflected the audience. To see the other sketches, go back to Part 2.

After client sign-off, I make any additional tweaks to the sketch I see fit with pencil and paper. In this case, I feel it’s pretty close to the intended result and any additional tweaks can easily be addressed on the computer, so I scan it and begin the digitization process. Working in illustrator using shapes and the pathfinder tools I vectorize the sketch and make the necessary alterations to the final letter-forms.

Early in the process we determined that the core mark would be the SCPW. From there, I’d deliver additional variations that took into account the full name of the organization.

Above is the full Summit Community Power Works logo.

Additionally, given the industry, we liked the idea incorporating a badge treatment into the brand, which can be seen above.

With final mark and logo variations intact, I now send to the client for final approval.

There it is, my full logo process from start to finish. I’m more than stoked on the way the final result came out, and even more importantly, so is the client. If you’re a designer, please chime in with any questions or feedback, as well as thoughts on your own process.

If you’re in the market for a new logo or identity, or simply need to tweak your existing brand feel free to reach out with any questions.

Contact Me to Start Your Logo Project

If the work you’re promoting on social media isn’t getting enough traction to build a customer base, the answer is seldom that you need to promote it more. What it probably means is that you need to do better work–or at least refocus that work to be more valuable to its intended audience. Social media is an amplifier, so it can only amplify value in the work you do. It can’t create value that isn’t present in the work itself.

Paul Jarvis via Fast Company

Why do you make?

Random thoughts from this morning’s coffee sesh.

• There is seldom, if ever, a clear path forward.
• Everyone is on a discrete path, all you can do is explore your own.
• There will always be opportunities if you look for them and have the courage to pursue them.
• Nothing is once-in-a-lifetime except for the interactions we have with others.
• The moment is all around us. Quit looking for it on a screen.
• Never let fear of the unknown or ‘what-if’ mentality control your decision making.
• Living on your own terms is achieved through financial independence.
• Only spend money on things that bring real value and align with what you want to achieve.
• You can have a lot more fun when you’re not worried how you’re going to pay rent.

We left off with Part 1 of my logo process after creating a mood board that reflected the desired style and direction as established in the initial creative brief. Now, with a bit of reference material and inspiration in place, I’ll bang out a couple pages worth of thumbnail sketches. The point of these sketches is to get as many ideas on paper as possible. As such, I like to sketch in pen as it prevents me from getting too detailed or editing sketches. Depending on the project constraints, I’ll spend about an hour roughing out potential ideas.

Read More

Hey you know those people that act like they don’t care that it’s Friday cuz they love their job so much. They’re all a bunch of liars. TGIF bitches.

Lately I’ve noticed myself falling back into the same rut that goes a little like this:

Make something > post to various channels > obsessively monitor likes/shares/retweets/etc…

But you know what? Fuck that. I’m over seeking validation through social media. Which got me thinking… why do I make? It’s a good question that I don’t really have an answer for. On some basic level, it’s in my nature and lineage. My father is a builder. His father is a builder, my other grandfather a farmer and my great-grandfather a mechanic. It’s in my midwest blood.

Creating, whether it’s sketching, drawing, writing, photography, or design provides an outlet. However, with the advent of social media, it seems like we subject our works to undue standards and criticism. We use likes and shares as a measure of success and even let it influence what we create, “Will this get x-many likes?” – and if not, we don’t make it. Like I said, fuck that.

While social is a great tool for distribution and connection, it’s terrible for creativity. Instead of making for ourselves, we now have a world-wide audience at our fingertips that we’re constantly trying to please. It’s design by committee to the max, and even worse, it provides infinite opportunities to measure ourselves and work against our peers. And nothing good ever comes from measuring yourself against others. We all do it on some level, but seriously, it’s the worst.

Here’s what I’m proposing; before making, ask yourself ‘If no one ever saw this, would I still make it?’ I know as creative-types (cringe) we crave validation which often comes when people use or find inspiration in our work, however, I’m confident that if we’re truly making for ourselves and not for the internet, this will become organic over time.

Also, quit checking social notifications. You’re not missing out on anything, I promise.

Further Reading: Jeff Tweedy on Doing What You Love

The best restaurant, Seinfeld episode, political candidate, brand of beer, ski slope, NASDAQ stock, you name it. Compare them to the most popular. Big is a choice. So is best.

Via Seth Godin

Read more on owning your work.

I came across artist, illustrator, and cross-country rambler Pat Perry in the latest issue of Iron & Air Magazine. His psychedelic surrealist style and fantastical sketchbooks immediately caught my eye. Above and below is a sampling of his work that I pulled off Pat’s site.

Read More