How to approach logo creation

A logo is the face of the company, it is why we know what coffee shop you’re in or what fast food restaurant has Golden Arches. A logo can separate an Apple user from the rest of the world. There are many, many ways to think about your business’ logo and the strategic application to your business.

The design, color theory, and overall emotional connection to a logo is key, especially in B2C applications. A logo is a part of the bigger brand picture, a part of the customer experience. In B2B applications, logos can be as practical as bridging two well-known and trusted names into one business.

Today, I want to share some B2C logo wins I’ve had in my career, and give examples of the logo creation process alongside brand creation.

Blended

This was my first branding opportunity ever. I worked with my colleagues and directors to understand the strategic goals for this brand – create an in-house smoothie concept that excited customers, and conveyed a healthier menu than the one before.

The company already had the name – Blended – and their space was already defined (for cost savings purposes) by left-behind orange and yellow equipment from the previous smoothie brand. So, I took photos of the space, and imagined future applications (like stickers on the sides of smoothie cups) and created the Blended logo and visual brand standards.

The orange matches the previous orange used in big pieces of furniture, and the blue was a way to directly contrast with the orange, which was a vibrant, fun, happy, and healthy pop for the new brand.

Rise Market + Bakery

For this, I worked with stakeholders to come up with the name of the coffee shop and bakery outlet. The venue was in a health district, and we wanted the brand to be clean, and modern to attract the younger demographic in the building it shared. I worked with an internal design team to fine-tune a logo that incorporated the hand-drawn element of something with a unique experience, and the design of a location that was modern and “on the horizon” of trends.

Terra Verde

When approached with the task of transforming a dining concept from a vegan and vegetarian destination to a high-caliber, chef-driven, plant based concept, we re-did all branding including the name of the concept, the logo, and every part of the graphic identity.

With an in-depth conversation with the chef driving the vision for the future of this concept, I was able to capture the fun, trendy, unique personality of the menus and the concept of a plant-based dining venue in the hand-drawn, quirky logo for Terra Verde.