Posts Tagged: Logo design from Pixels on Paper
Some New Graphic Design work from Pixels
In the news, especially the science and environmental columns and journals for the past decade, we’ve all been learning about how our bee populations nationally are in danger and decline. If you didn’t care – or know before – you probably do now. The health of bee colonies is a significant sign of how our environment overall is doing and bees are part of a process that ultimately touches how we humans live and survive.
It’s big. That’s the macro. The micro? Most of us grew up eating honey and don’t you love eating local honey on a biscuit? …. Or take a spoonful of local honey to help with allergies? I digress.
These clients – Sherry and her husband Allen of Byrd’s and Bees Farm – reached out to us last fall to have a logo created for their business: a family-run local bee farm that sells both honey and “nucs.” These guys had a fairly specific idea for the logo mark. We talked on the phone about what they were thinking, and we took those ideas and developed options. They had a drawing that I mimicked closely that was very light and airy with more pastels as a color palette. The second option we presented was reminiscent of the vintage seed packets and the third option was a very modern, clean line, simplified honeycomb option.
Here are the 3 options we presented:
Sherry’s response to the initial designs: “Okay so I’ve been waiting on this all day!!! They are all so beautiful but by far mine and Allen’s favorite is Option 2! I am so in love with that style! The colors are beautiful and the style is perfect. I love that heart apostrophe…makes MY heart smile.”
After some tweaks we ended up with this design.
They were thrilled! Huzzah!! : “I’m so happy (giddy even) with this logo! Thank you so much!!! I love it!”
If you’ve never hired us for graphic design work, here’s a little info to tuck away. Our process is one we use that has served us well over the years. We typically listen to the client’s ideas and show them 3 options to start. Those usually follow the “rule” of show one that’s right on par with their ideas, fleshing out the detail and covering the base. The second option deviates slightly from that original client idea to add a few extra little touches that may enhance their ideas. The third option Ryan calls “the wild card.” It’s a design that’s just out of box altogether, and its mainly there to show ideas they may not have even considered.
Once a design is approved, we can also design business cards, stationary packages, brochures, powerpoint slide decks and a whole lot more.
This couple is working on their overall brand and business and when we have more to share with you, we look forward to it!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Fionix Consulting – Graphic Work for a Commercial Client
When a friend and former colleague of Ryan’s approached us about creating some branding and graphics for her new venture, of course we were in. People know Pixels primarily as photographers, but Ryan and I are trained graphic artists. Ryan’s been with Central Piedmont Community College’s marketing and media department for 14 years. He’s our creative lead when clients need graphic design.
Jessica Graham wanted to start a new consulting business and found the name Fionix (pronounced Phoenix) suited her perfectly. The word in one definition described “a girl who isn’t afraid to fight; some people even call her the alpha. She normally has blond hair and slightly different colored eyes and she is strong, fearless, and loyal. She’s a best friend who never lies to you.” Jessica read that definition and heard the audible click that said, “the search for my business name is over.” That’s when Pixels’ work began.
Working with Jessica was a lot of fun for Ryan, because she was once his boss at CPCC and they had a sort of short hand. He picked her brain, but she also came to the table with lots of thoughts and ideas that made the process more exciting than a simple font treatment. We love logo design and branding and Ryan’s career has been steeped in the principles of consistency and unifying creative. The direction initially was a play on our traditional view of phoenix (the bird rising from its ashes), so flames and regeneration were a start. What we ended up with is a mark that she absolutely loves and one that we are particularly proud show off.
Once her design was approved, we created business cards and the rest of the identity systems for Fionix. We’re excited for Jessica’s new consulting business. She saw a gap in the market and is filling it with her years of experience in communications and public relations and her endless curiosity for reaching out on behalf of communities.
We are always eager to help new entrepreneurs or existing businesses develop their branding through better, more targeted graphic design. If you know someone starting a business or looking to refresh their brand, I hope you’ll tell them that graphic design is part of what we do at Pixels.
pixels vendor spotlight: Bridal Traditions Wedding and Prom Attire
Somehow, after all of these years and too many collaborations to count, we’ve never blogged about Bridal Traditions as a beloved and favorite vendor and partner of ours. Kelly Shumate, the owner of BT, is a dear friend and not only have we worked with her, but for her, creating her custom logo and branding.
We also took her wedding renewal portraits in one of the more unique and beautiful sessions we’ve had with a bride and groom. Honestly, that’s the word for Kelly and the options and perspective she provides to her customers at Bridal Traditions and beYOUtiful Proms – unique. Kelly built her business from the ground up starting with a vision but only working at it part-time. She found gowns for weddings, provided dresses and accessories for proms, and later participated in prom campaigns like All About Prom where she could supply the right attire to each lady. By 2008, with no debt (NO. DEBT.) and a storefront, Kelly left her other job and became fulltime owner, operator and visionary for BT.
Kelly is fun to collaborate with because she brings so many creative and clever options to the table when we’re the photographers for a particular promotion or event. You can have the word “Traditions” in your business name and still be modern, fun and completely distinct. 
Every bride, every prom attendee wants to be and look remarkable. You like Scarlett O’Hara? Kelly and her team have got ya. Love The Great Gatsby? Done. Bohemian Chic? She can make you into that perfect gypsy. We look forward to many more years of working with Kelly and her amazing retail operations at Bridal Traditions and beYOUtiful Prom Attire.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
pixels does portraits, outdoor shoots, weddings, newborns & (wait for it) LOGOS
We showcase our photography on this blog more than anything. It’s fun and we’re proud of our work and all of the relationships we get to document and those that we now have with so many of our clients. Photography gets primacy, because everyone enjoys creative pictures paired with stories that resonate. What we don’t often highlight is our flourishing graphic design business – which gets the same care and focus as our photography biz. So, we sorta buried the lead in this blog title. It’s not really just “logos” – it’s branding and it’s graphic (by definition) and it’s creative work.
BUT – the first thing most of us learn about and then remember about a brand is the logo.
As most of you know, a brand isn’t a just a logo or a tagline – it’s a business, a product, a person – so we spend quality time with each client learning about their business, their goals, their competition, their target audiences and then reviewing images that they think capture who they are and what they’re about. As with photography clients – collaboration is important, so there is back and forth, sharing, communication process where we home in on the best version. Getting close is a blast! Getting to “YES, that’s it!” from the client is even … “blast-ier.”
We love it when clients bring examples of fonts, colors and images we can use for inspiration and as jumping off points. Then the fun really begins! Sketching, playing with palettes and possibilities, even escaping to other media for a break. Ever been stuck working on something and gone to the movies? Could be a spreadsheet or a screenplay, but you need to get up and go watch something or be somewhere else. Clearing your mind with something or someone wholly unrelated to your work can suddenly make you think – “I’VE GOT IT!”? Inspiration can come from anywhere, so we also pay attention to that unexpected magic that happens.
Each client is different – and thank God for that. Otherwise, where’s the fun? And naturally each logo is different and needs a different voice, look and that little something extra. Picture the curling “come-here” pointer finger that says, “come have a look…!” That’s our goal: to execute a successful logo, but also to establish a brand and make our clients happy and ready to move forward on their dreams.
We develop the business cards, stationery and any other promotional items, make sure all designs are scalable so that they can be used across all media, and then we watch and hope and pray for the best outcomes for each business or project. Have we mentioned that we love our clients? Business development projects are some of our favorites and if you need us, we’d love to work with you! Check out Pixels for other examples of branding and commercial work.