combo

PROJECT

Create a logo for a new St. Louis Park initiative along with a flyer explaining the program.

BACKGROUND

I was approached to work on this about a month before the program would be announced to the public. The person leading the program, Annie, had researched similar programs in other cities around the country and drafted a rough draft of a flyer with a logo. She asked that I convey the same content but was otherwise flexible on the design. As with all city projects, the deliverables should follow the city’s style guide. And the logo should be appropriate for use in print, web, social media, video, and also merchandise like stickers and bottles for events.

TOOLS

Adobe Illustrator (logo)
Adobe InDesign (flyer)

PROCESS

I tackled the logo first. My research included interviewing Annie and looking at the websites and print collateral for several similar organizations including ones specifically cited by Annie. My initial concept was to convey the transformation of pavement into green space by nature breaking through it. Unlike other organizations’ logos with a similar but more elaborate look, this one is simplified to work well across more use cases. Feedback from Annie was positive and over a few iterations we quickly evolved the logo, going with an overall round shape, a heavy outline making it bolder and also easier to translate to black & white, making the logo slightly asymmetric, incorporating the program name, and finally deciding to flip the leaves upward.

That last decision was the most unexpected surprise to me. I really like the implied arrow of the seedling/sapling, and Annie asked if we could try with upturned leaves just to see it. The change was much better than I expected, giving the logo an even stronger sense of uplift and growth. It also improves the balance of the negative space inside the logo.

With the logo in hand, I turned my attention to the flyer. I immediately had an idea to use an illustration to convey the concept at a glance before getting into the details. I sketched it on my whiteboard and Annie was enthusiastic about going in this direction.

RESULTS

I created an isometric illustration showing a before and after scene that includes all the major elements described in Annie’s original content. And the illustration uses colors and a simple geometric style consistent with the logo design. After a few minor tweaks, such as showing a particular type of permeable paver, the flyer was finished and the entire project was completed on time.

The program was announced via St. Louis Park’s social media (FB, Instagram, Twitter, Nextdoor), email (GovDelivery), website, and the ParkTV cable channel surprised us by incorporating the logo as a motion graphic in a promo they made. Annie says the public reaction has been very positive with 10x their typical engagement on social media.