Alphabet Arm Design News

Our friends at Zero Age Media hired us to develop an identity for Wiggle Nation — a social network dedicated to the discovery and promotion of new and emerging kids’ music. This project was a bit tricky because it needed to portray kids’ music while appealing to parents. We settled on a playful, hand-rendered type treatment anchored by a bold sans-serif typeface.

Events on a Mission is a New York based event planning service. What makes them so unique is that they incorporate charitable giving within an event. From intimate, private parties, to formal, ballroom galas, Events on a Mission allows their clients to relax and leave all the planning to them, while giving to a cause that is near and dear to their client’s hearts.
The logo itself was inspired by the owner’s innovative approach to business. In a market that is inundated with competition, she thought (and we always agree) that the logo should stand apart from what’s commonly used within the industry. We split the different between a formal affair and an assertive mission stamp. It’s buttoned up enough to appeal to her female demographic, while not alienating the dudes. Party on people—and feel good about it!

ProctorCam is a virtual proctoring service offered to test takers and organizations that administers tests online. We were recently approached by the CEO to update their brand. The prior logo felt a bit too obvious, dated and fluorescent in our opinion. Staying true to our logo process, our goal was to keep things simple but present ProctorCam with a more sophisticated identity. The new icon within the lock-up stands on it’s own and reads initially as a “P” until the color break reveals a seamlessly integrated “C.” We presented quite a few color options once the basic composition of the logo was approved. Getting buy-in to veer away from the old color scheme proved to be the biggest stumbling block, all credit to our client for trusting us enough to make the leap. The new logo feels more legitimate, trustworthy, and a lot less web 2.0.

With a service as niche as “Asian fabrics for the home,” it would seem natural to have very specific direction when beginning an identity for The Barii Group. In fact, the business’ owner had a very specific image in mind: a serene pond, surrounded by bamboo with a picturesque tea house sitting on its shore. While this may indeed be a beautiful image, it seemed a bit more complicated than the clean and modern tone that the client wanted to project. During our research and concepting process, we isolated the image of ripples in a pond as the most important. We focused on these overlapping ripples, and they became the central mark of the brand. The type solution revolves around a sophisticated but unpretentious serif face, featuring an “r-i” ligature that we created and paired with a clean sans.

A logo that has lightning bolts and an umlaut? It has to be a metal band, right? Think again. ÜberGeekGirl offers professional IT services to an exclusive and ultra-secret client base including many well known individuals and celebrities in and around Los Angeles. ÜberGeekGirl serves their clients by bringing order to their complex world of electronics and by helping them stay connected. Rather than referencing one specific kind of technology, we focused on broad, overarching concepts that could encompass all the services offered by our client. The final logo features ÜGG as the nucleus bringing order to the erratic particles in orbit.

One thing we’ve learned over the years is that things rarely ever work out the way that we plan. Case in point: a recent logo project for Base Camp Communications. When we got the call from the company’s founder and director, we were definitely excited. It was obvious that they were serious about brand communications and cared passionately about the industries that their clients supported. With all of this in mind, we began the process and created several concepts—a few of which are showcased below—that embodied the client’s independent, outdoorsy philosophy. Of the presented directions, the one that really struck the client was a yak. The yak, or course, is a hardy animal. A workhorse that isn’t afraid of any peak; it is equally at home both on a rocky slope and a wintery plain.

Once the yak direction was chosen, the client asked us to explore some different ways to represent the yak. What began as a rather geometric and angular interpretation of a yak, became a bit softer and more shaggy.

In the end, we hit it on the head—not literally—with a stylized yak that was forceful and energetic without being sharp and unapproachable.

Though the client was happy and really liked the yak, Base Camp was acquired by another company, leaving the yak out to pasture. We decided to share it with you all here, just give the guy a chance to run free.

In our effort to assist with worthy causes, we answered the call from a long time friend and client involved with the site Target Cancer. The site promotes targeted research into curing cancers lacking treatment protocols, supporting the development and codification of cutting edge and life saving protocols, and funding research into alternative treatment options and drugs.

There will soon be a component on their website that will offer music downloads from artists like Juliana Hatfield, They Might Be Giants, Ween, The Donnas and Buffalo Tom. Rockin’ for a ’cause!

If you are in the Boston area there is a good chance you recently read about Powahouse on the cover of the Boston Globe. A Powahouse is a small apartment building that packs a big punch. It’s also a Boston-based project, currently incubating, that’s scheduled to hatch first thing in 2010.

The basis for the name “Powahouse” comes from the fact that this project is a way for homeowners to make their apartment a renewable energy power plant as well as the idea of setting a powerful example in efficient design and construction. When we first met to discuss their new identity the client expressed their desire to balance the playful take on the word Power with a more serious mark.

The concept for the winning logo stems from the idea of a carbon footprint, or better yet, the lack there of. The focal point is the stark, white house-shape formed in the negative (or positive if you will) space between the dirty, inefficient homes. The type is clean and modern reflecting the ideals of Powahouse.

Here is the newly completed logo for an independent concert promoter based in Barcelona, Spain. Music Van Promotions specializes in booking contemporary bands that are in part influenced by the late 60’s- early 70’s Folk, Garage, Psychedelia, Prog and Hard-Rock which ultimately gives them a timeless feel. Our goal with the logo was to honor the company’s affinity for both classic and current music while focusing on a contemporary look + feel with the identity’s execution. The real challenge was to simplify the complex form of a van stuffed full of musical instruments into a clean, easy to read logo.

The greatest challenge we encountered when developing the visual identity for the Ferree Group, Inc. was the being constantly aware of the two distinct demographics that the company is balanced between: new clients and trade professionals. The Principal of the Boston based general construction company was very conscious of the importance of having a strong, professional brand he would present to new and potential clients. At the same time, he was also very concerned about the trade professionals and B2B vendors he worked with on daily basis and didn’t want his company’s new identity to feel too “design-y.” Taking this into account, we developed a classically simple, bold type treatment to complement the “F column” icon. The column itself was born from the group’s dependability and commitment to quality work.

Typically, we are hired to design business cards once a logo project is completed. This is ideal for us as it’s typically our first opportunity to take a logo and start crafting a bit of a brand around it. Here are the Ferree Group business cards.