Category: Design

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Branding Design

#HeroesAreAthletes Branding Breakdown: Luke Cage & Misty Knight

Looking at the some of the best athlete visual brands and finishing the latest season of Luke Cage on Netflix inspired me to create a new brand identity project series: #HeroesAreAthletes. As a logo & brand identity designer, I am always coming up with ways to practice and get better at my craft. I’m also in the creative place in my life where, if I think it’s cool, I’m going to try it.

#HeroesAreAthletes is a design series where I put together a visual brand concept for fictional characters that are considered heroes of their fictional story. At least at first, I’m going to be focusing on comic book heroes. The logo for the series itself plays off comic books. The logo is inspired by the top left corner of comic books, where publishers typically feature the company’s logo, the price of the book, and the number of the issue. I designed the logo with the official Creative Bobbie logo at the top, “Heroes Are Athletes” text in the center, and a simplified cape tail with a star.

The first brand concept I tackled was for the bulletproof hero for hire, the power man Luke Cage. Using other athlete brands as inspiration, I wanted to create something that used the least to represent the most. Luke Cage was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. He gains the powers of superhuman strength and unbreakable skin through an experimental procedure he was subjected to involuntarily. He now uses his powers to protect Harlem. My logo concept speaks to who he is and his story.

The logo is created on a 6×8 grid. In the United States, prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in dimension. His initials LC are both seen. The overall shape refers to his real first name: Carl. The top right can also be interpreted as a closed fist from the front. (The intro to the Luke Cage series sees him punch at the camera.) I went with a blocked, heavy logo that speaks to his power. The colors are inspired by the Netflix show’s branding and his initial appearance in Marvel Comics.

After arriving at a logo I liked, I began seeing how I could apply and extend his brand. I created a full brand presentation with hoodie mockups, a shoe design concept, and even coffee packaging design. “Getting coffee” is a recurring joke within the show. I also included his catchphrase “Sweet Christmas” throughout.

The next hero to get the branding treatment was Misty Knight. Misty is one of my favorite characters on the show. She’s been through a lot and maintained her strength through it all. She deserves a great visual brand identity. Misty is an outstanding police detective in the New York City Police Department who often teams up with Luke Cage. After going through many possiblities, I arrived at her logo. Obviously, I combined her initials M and K. The disconnected left side of the M represents Misty’s bionic arm. The left side of the M is actually a sword, a common weapon of knight – a play on her last name. The circle surrounding the mark is left over from my initial plan to incorporate a basketball reference some how, as Misty has a background as a basketball player. The colors were chosen from her and her bionic arm using the eyedropper tool in Adobe Photoshop.

This whole project is another example of finding the joy in the intersection of what I do to what I like/love. I’m going to continue this journey with other heroes I feel I can make a visual brand concept for. What heroes should I do next?

~b.

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Branding Design

Case Study: Elite 100 Logo

The Blue & Gold Loyalty Foundation supports the North Carolina A&T University Band Program through fundraising efforts. The Elite 100 is the designation for a select group of donors to the Blue & Gold Loyalty Foundation. Supporters were asked to donate $100 and were recognized for their support of the North Carolina A&T State University Band Program. As an alumnus of A&T and the A&T Band, I love providing designs for this cause. I made the official Blue & Gold Loyalty Foundation and had an idea for the Elite 100 logo.

First, the badge shape mimics the Foundation’s shape but I made the weight of the stroke heavier for Elite 100. At the bottom of the logo, you can see the top of the same drum major hat that is prominent in the branding of the Foundation. The drum major is the student leader of the band. The Elite 100 are somewhat like the drum majors of the donors. The top of the hat represents the pinnacle of giving. The goal is to encourage supporters to strive to give that extra for a great cause.

The Elite 100 text inside is written in a thicker font with the 100 being the most visible. The number 100 represents the amount being given per supporter as well as the name of the recognition so it needed to be front and center. The sea of lines at the bottom represent the musical staff, 5 lines & 4 spaces. Another musical reference can be seen at the very top of the logo. The treble clef, along with the drum major, also ties the Elite 100 logo to the Blue & Gold Loyalty Foundation logo.

This project is another example of my calling to design with purpose. I love the A&T band program. As an alum, I have a duty to use my skillset (and my dollars) to support in any way possible whenever I can.

~b.

Categories
Branding Design

The Genius of the Staubach’s Coffee logo by Brandon Moore

The moment I saw Brandon Moore’s Staubach’s Coffee brand on Twitter was the moment I discovered a brand new level to fantasy football. In 2017, I was invited to participate in my first ever fantasy football league. His Staubach’s Coffee brand inspired me to create an entire brand for my fantasy football team, the Stroll City Strivers.

The very first thing that struck me about the brand was the creative name of the franchise: Staubach’s Coffee. I’ve quickly learned the importance of a great fantasy football franchise name. Staubach’s Coffee is a delicious, ingenious combination of the Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and the American coffee company Starbucks Coffee. After you get done marveling at the magnificent name, you get to the logo. The star (hehe) of the show is the illustration of good ol’ Roger in the classic Cowboys helmet in the center. The name surrounds the illustration with a star on either side. The texture over the design enhances the classic feel of the overall brand.

Also, it wasn’t just the logo that inspired me. Take a peek at the #StaubachsCoffeeForged hashtag on Twitter to see how Brandon brought the franchise alive on social media. There were starting lineups, game results, top performer highlights, game ads, and even uniform concepts! This whole project is another example of when design and sports meet to provide me with such motivation and entertainment!

Brandon Moore is a Graphic Artist in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area that currently does work for the Miami Dolphins and New Miami Stadium. His brand identities are awesome and I often refer to them when I am trying to present my own. I, personally, wish the Oklahoma City Thunder would call Brandon and tell him to brand the team. He already has a great presentation on his Behance that would uplift the visuals of the franchise to new heights.

Salute and thank you, Brandon Moore, for your work!

~b.

Categories
Branding Design

The National Leadership Conference Logo

National Leadership Conference. Also, known as NLC.

NLC is the event that happens every summer where district officers, counselors, and governors come together along with national leadership to discuss how to better serve Kappa Kappa Psi & Tau Beta Sigma as well as college and university bands. It is a very important event for the Fraternity and Sorority. So, as with every other event hosted by the organizations, it needed a logo. As the National Publications Manager & Multimedia Designer (my title is boss), it fell on me to provide such.

Obviously, the first thought that came to mind was how to represent leadership. Leadership describes the participants as well as speaks to the goal of the event itself. When I thought leadership, my mind went to podium (or lectern). Often during meetings and conventions, presiding officers speak from behind one. In Adobe Illustrator, I tried a few options for the illustration of a lectern.

Once I had the base I wanted, I thought about what else I could put on it. I could have tried to put both the Fraternity and the Sorority crests on the design. However, I wanted to do something that fit more seamlessly with the design. The star in the center of the lectern represents Kappa Kappa Psi. Much of the Kappa Kappa Psi brand uses the star. The director baton represents Tau Beta Sigma. Also, if you turn the entire logo clockwise 90 degrees, you can see the bottom of the lectern is a musical staff. I love fitting in subtle references to organizations in my designs at work.

To complete the design, I used the font Trajan to write the names of the organizations, “NLC”, and National Leadership Conference around the logo. The NLC is most prominent because that’s the most commonly used name for the event. I’m a fan of Trajan because it gives off a level of official sophistication that I like. I adjusted the kerning above and below so that the additional text would cover a good amount of the length.

Overall, the logo looks really nice.

Hopefully, I’ve created something that will stand the test of time.

~b.

Categories
Branding Content Creation Design

Making A Mark: “Insecurity” Logo Design

In my newest video series, Making A Mark, I take you through my process of creating designs.

In the first episode, I try to interpret the word in·se·cu·ri·ty into a logo design.

Watch, like, share, and subscribe!

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Branding Design

Salute to the University of Nebraska Omaha Logo Design by Torch Creative

Welcome to the first official installment of a new series entitled “I Didn’t Design It But I Like It”. In this series, I want to highlight the design work of others that I enjoy. I am a big advocate for giving flowers while people can still smell them. I believe loving design means loving designers. Seeing great work acts as not only inspiration but motivation. We should all share our appreciation for and to those who inspire us.

In this first official installment, I’d like to salute Torch Creative and their work on the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) logo. My first time seeing the logo was when it was brought into the office by my friend and co-worker TJ, a graduate of UNO. It actually took closer inspection to realize that the O itself was designed to include the U and the N. This increased my fondness of the logo as I am a huge fan of clean and clever logos. TJ also showed off the UNO Maverick logo which I was also a fan of. The entire athletics brand of UNO gets two thumbs up from me.

When TJ took my friend William and myself up to Omaha on a road trip, he gave us a tour of the university. On this tour, we were able to see the beautiful on-campus applications of the logo. We attended a UNO hockey game, my first ever hockey game, which was played in Baxter Arena in Omaha. On the outside of the arena, you could see that mighty fine O shining brightly in the night. Inside, the store had the logo (and other brand elements) on all kinds of different apparel and other items. It’s one thing to see a logo on the internet. It’s a completely different and much more rewarding feeling to see how it is being applied on site in its natural habitat.

I actually didn’t find out that Torch Creative did this logo I was crushing on so hard until later. Torch Creative is a design studio based in Dallas, Texas that I have been following on Twitter for a while now. On June 19, they posted a tweet that stopped me in my tracks. So, I went to their website and discovered that I had somehow missed, in their portfolio, a project entitled “University of Nebraska Omaha Rebrand”.

The work of Torch Creative is a source of great inspiration. They done work for so many big time brands, events, and schools. A lot of their work lives in that beautiful cross section of design and sports. Even their sketches are absolutely phenomenal. Salute to Torch Creative!

Let people know you like their stuff. When you see design work (or any good work) you enjoy on social media, don’t just like but leave a positive comment. Let the people know that they are creating and sharing something that positively impacts you. I hope I am creating designs that are doing the same.

~b.

Full video on my YouTube Channel below:

Categories
Design Music

How Spotify Helps Me Practice Graphic Design

One of the greatest events in the history of music was when Spotify began allowing people to upload their own feature images for their music playlists.

Probably going overboard with that statement but it still was pretty cool.

From that moment onward, I starting thinking of cool cover art I could make for my playlists. As a lover of playlist making, this added another element to one of my favorite pastimes. As a music lover and a design lover, the intersection of the two has always provided me with great joy.

Over the past few months, I have been making my Bobbie’s Music Monday playlists and sharing them on my social media. Each playlist is made up of songs that I had never heard before and really liked upon discovery. Every Bobbie’s Music Monday playlist has its own custom cover. Starting with the 4th edition, I designed a matching back cover with the tracklist for each one. Yesterday, I posted the 26th edition. I followed my usual Music Monday process with the latest.

The art for each playlist is usually inspired by one of the tracks or one of the source albums. Once I finish the playlist, I think about what I want the cover to be. The front cover is always designed first. The back cover plays off the front cover’s concept. With playlist number 26, I knew I was going to have “This is America” by Childish Gambino as the opener and “Americans” by Janelle Monae as the closer. So, I immediately starting playing with a minimalist version of the American flag. In Photoshop, I warped the shapes and then put some torn paper texture within the design. My Music Monday logo was overlayed twice: once right side up and the other upside down. I wanted to go for something that showed the American colors but warped and torn. Normally, my designs are very clean but sometimes I like to go abstract and even messy when the artistic mood strikes me.

The Music Monday playlist cover designs have been great design practice. They allow me to experiment with concepts outside of my usual work. Thanks again to Spotify for allowing me the ability to truly customize and be creative on the platform.

~b.

Categories
Branding Design

Couple of Reasons To Seek Professional Help For Your Logo And Not DIY

What is a logo?

It is your stamp. Your mark. It represents you, even when you aren’t in the room. It is your symbol. Your emblem. It’s worth working with a professional designer to craft the right one to be the centerpiece of your visual brand identity. If you yourself are talented at logo and brand identity design, have at it! However, for those who are not skilled in those areas, you need to consult a professional.

Gain A Professional Perspective

Professionals in the design can help you see the long game. There are a lot of parts and steps to building a brand. Someone experienced in logo design and brand identity work can help you navigate the process. It’s not just the designing but the opportunity for consultation. The conversations you have with designers about your goals can be very fruitful and enriching for you personally and professionally. We are not simply tools but potential teammates. The questions creatives typically ask will refine the need you have. Your vision plus an expert teammate you can trust equals magic!

You Get What You Pay For

Experience and quality matter. If your main objective is to spend as little money as possible building your brand, you will get what you pay for. What is achieving your goal worth to you? If you are not willing to invest in you, why would you expect anyone else to? The more you put into your foundation at the start of the process, the more value will be realized and the longer it will last. If you are unwilling to spend money on your brand, that says something about how much you actually believe in that vision.

In Conclusion

What is your brand worth? Do you believe in its purpose? Is it worth making sure you do it right the first time? The best logos should be timeless, original, and versatile. There’s so much that goes into the conception and construction of such a logo. Seek out those who are experienced in crafting such so that your brand may experience maximum excellence.

~b.