Monday, January 18, 2010

The Edge

Friend, neighbor, and soul-patch connoisseur Joey Perry approached me several months ago and mentioned that he would be starting his own yard maintenance and restoration business. Would I consider designing his business identity? You bet!

My process involved addressing two clients - Joey being one, and his customer base the other. I wanted to create something that would be slightly clever and unique to Joe's business and generate a solution that would resonate instantly with his prospective and existing clients. My hope was to convey masculininty, power, and confidence along with a sporty sense of creativity, as Joey would inevitably be involved in design with some, if not all, of his clients.

What better way to tap into success than to tap into success? I thought of and dug up logos of successful brands that the average consumer would associate with power tools, heavy equipment, construction, and lawnmowers - brands that stand out at lawn and garden centers and construction supply big-boxes.

Taking general design cues from the marketplace, my solution plays on the business name with an assymetric push to the right edge of the logo, maintains bold forms that are typical of the genre, and employs a simple verdant color scheme to tie it into the actual business activity. Last I checked, red grass just wasn't that popular.

The look on Joe's face when his business cards showed up was priceless, and his clients understand what they can't articulate themselves - that Joe Perry cares enough about the way that others perceive his business to see that it is represented in a visually attractive manner, so he'll go the distance when it comes to ensuring that their property is maintained and/or restored properly.

Now that I think about it, I should have negotiated some trade, as my yard looks like a shallow brown hell....

Next: website and social media for The Edge.