“I was referred to you by another one of your clients.” Those are good words to hear! When clients take the time to refer me, I know our work together went well and they feel confident in sharing my name. Word of mouth and growing my business organically has lead to great relationships and more and more local connections. Encourage your clients to spread the word if they’re happy with the work you’ve done – that type of reminder can really boost your business. 

The office manager from a local CPA firm in the process of changing their name had been referred by a dentist I created a logo for years ago.  Along with that connection, one of the CPA’s in the firm had been my CPA years ago, so I inquired about him and this is what the office manager, Alexandra, told me:

“Small world about John! He is officially retired now, as are all of the partners in our current name, so it’s time for a change. Our current partners’ first names conveniently start with H, R, & G so we are going to change from Hyland Ruddy & Garbett CPAs, LLC to HRG CPAs, LLC. We have never really had an official logo before, but I’m attaching what we have on our website & stationary. The website logo is just a generic logo that was generated by our accounting based website developer. The letterhead & business cards were created by the printing company we used years ago.”

This information helped so much in understanding what they had been working with and why they were making the change. And what a coincidence that they were able to use the same letters of ‘HRG’.  Crazy. As for the logo style they were looking for, her email went on to say:

“We would like the logo to be something professional, but with personality! I’ve been looking at other logos in the area (CPA firms, law firms, etc.), and I’m torn between keeping it simple, or adding a “lowcountry/Charleston” flair. The new logo will obviously be used on our website and internal documents, but we also have 2 rectangular signs that will need to be replaced with the new logo.”

Together, Alexandra and I decided to work on both a simple design and one that included a graphic of the Ravenel Bridge. I began with 6 rough drafts to get us in a good direction on style, fonts and color. Alexandra came back with excellent details on her three favorites and the changes she wanted to try. Alexandra shared the revisions with the partners and got back to me within a few weeks. We moved forward to finalize using some mock-ups of the new logo on their old sign. 

After 28 years of being Hyland Ruddy & Garbett, CPA’s, the firm will make the official name change January 1, 2023 – and I look forward to seeing the new logo in place on the website and on the sign!

The post HRG CPAs, LLC Logo appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

 Earlier this year, Doug Alling met me for lunch to discuss a new branding campaign for Knox Marine. I’ve done many projects with Doug and Knox Marine over the past few years and looked forward to hearing more about the new direction they planned to go. Doug and the team had made the decision to change the name to Pilot Marine. A new name and logo is a big undertaking, in most cases because the logo has to be changed everywhere it is being used from the website to printed materials and all social media. For some companies, it means having a new sign made, redoing vehicle signage and revamping marketing campaigns. Because of this, companies who need an update or have an interest in a logo refresh often hesitate to take the step. 

Making the choice to update and then moving forward with intention can make all the difference in how smoothly the transition takes place. At Pilot Marine, the entire team got in on the vote and after Doug and I worked through a number of ideas, we had some layouts to present. A team vote can be tricky, but Doug wanted everyone with the company to be on board and excited about the change. Fortunately, with Doug’s clear direction, we had only a few tweaks to make and then got a thumb’s up from everyone.

For Pilot Marine, they had several reasons to do an update and I wanted to help make the change as seamless as possible. Our Atlantic coast keeps companies like Pilot Marine busy throughout the year and even a small pause can be hard to justify. The web manager moved quickly once the final choice was made and the website was updated immediately. 

Pilot Marine Surveyors & Consultants is one of America’s premiere marine survey firms. The company specializes in damage survey and investigation, with clients ranging from regional insurers to the world’s largest marine insurance companies. They operate in VA, SC, NC, GA, FL, and MD and the team of accredited surveyors investigates hundreds of losses each year.

Pilot Marine Surveyors & Consultants has conducted nearly 10,000 inspections and the team has over 175 years combined marine experience.

Soon after completing the new logo, Doug asked me to design an ad for Claims Magazine and you can see that ad here on the bottom left of the page.

Visit their website to discover more about Pilot Marine:

pilotmarinesurvey.com

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Logo design for a wine poet comes to life …

Intrigued by wine and want to learn more about bottles you can actually get your hands on? Find some bite size nuggets of fascinating information at the Grape Poetry instagram account, where French Wine Scholar, Carol Morris, tells stories of wine along with sharing gorgeous photos of various bottles. Carol is a WSET Level 3  – “An advanced level qualification for professionals  and enthusiasts wishing to acquire a detailed understanding of the spirits of the world and develop the tasting skills required to accurately describe and evaluate a spirit”. She is a wine consultant and lover of French wines, in particular. Her wine tales reveal her knowledge of the wines of the world and her passion for the history, tastes and differences of spirits. Her posts not only teach about wine, they lead you to where you can find particular bottles locally (if you’re in the Charleston, SC area). So, you’ll not just have to wish to try a wine she describes! And if you’re interested in hosting a wine tasting at your business or home, get in touch with Carol. 

Carol called me with a plan to start her own wine tasting/wine education business.  She needed a logo for Grape Poetry to use for social media, business cards, her website and teaching materials. She googled ‘local graphic designer’, found me and we met to discuss her vision. We worked together well, going back and forth with color shades, elements and layouts. Her enthusiasm was contagious and as I worked on the logo, I got more excited about the possibilities. Combining her writing – the poetry of wine, with the humble grapes made for a great visual.  Soon after finalizing the logo, I began to work on some business cards for her. 

Follow Carol on Instagram! I know you’ll be tempted by each beautiful photo and want to go back through each post to find a wine or two you want to try.

instagram.com/grape.poetry

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HCA expands into fiberglass pool installation …

 As I’ve said in the past, acquiring a customer who returns to you for other jobs is always an assurance that you’re doing something right – and hopefully providing a combination of good service, easy communication and a final product that is just what the customer hoped for.

In October of 2021, Connor of Charleston SC, contacted me about a logo for his landscaping company. This was an uncomplicated job because Connor had already found online an excavator arm image that he wanted to replicate with minor changes.  He also knew exactly what kind of colors and layout he wanted. He just needed me to create the vector logo and provide social media files for him. We experimented mostly with the sizing of the excavator arm and the overlapping of the arm over the business name. We also tried a number of different fonts and font sizes in order to get the bold, strong letters that he imagined in order to project a tough and rugged feel.

Connor was great to work with and was very responsive when I sent layouts over to him. We had easy and straight forward communication that enabled me to work quickly and concisely. You can find his landscape company here:

facebook.com/HCALandscapes

Next, in April of 2022, Connor was back in touch! He said, “I have started another company that does fiberglass pool installation. The company name is HCA Pools.” 

This time, instead of rugged, he wanted a more high-end look, while still keeping it simple and not fussy.  His vision for the image part of the logo, was a simple water swirl. Most of the initial layouts included a variety of water swirls, swooshes and spouts in various blue shades from bright to subtle. It didn’t take Connor long to eliminate and choose his favorites. We fine-tuned from there creating the new logo for HCA Pools of Charleston, SC. What will be next for this enterpenuer? We will have to wait and see! 

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An educator, a choreographer and a performer – meet Dancing Beena!

Dancing Beena is an educator, a choreographer and a beautiful performer. Originally from India, she now lives in SC and performs and teaches all around Charleston and the state.  Beena was influenced by the Egyptian and Lebanese styles of Arabic dance. She started dancing in Chicago in 2003 and studied with Jasmin Jahal and other educators. She has trained in Karate for over 18 years and Keno for 10 years. Yoga, Pilates and Qigong round out her practice. She brings these healing art, marital art and dance art disciplines into her classes. Her core mission is to guide her students in dance and to bring joy, confidence and fun to the classes. She encourages people of all levels to join her and give dance a try.

As a graphic designer, I work with a variety of business types which makes my work so fascinating. Every new job gives me a window into a person and a story I knew nothing about. Meeting Beena is a perfect example. I’ve never worked with a dancer before and meeting her in late 2021 introduced me to the business of dance and the range of opportunities for someone with her talents. She expressed an interest in updating her logo and maybe working on a few other projects together. She had been creating her own designs in Photoshop, so she already had an eye for design, layouts and an excellent starting point for me to work from. 

Wonderfully distinctive, the silhouette of Beena dancing was the basis for her existing logo.  My job was to take the image and refine it, while creating a vector file we could use on any project in the future. Drawing inspiration from her gorgeous costumes, the color palettes we chose for both the business card and the postcards were a vibrant mix of shades. The bright turquoise is a perfect backdrop for both the black and white contrasting type and makes the silhouette pop. While, the energizing, rich magenta brings movement and femininity to the postcards, enhancing the photos. Beena chose several quotes to use on the postcards and after trying them out in layouts, she decided on the one by Martha Graham which pairs perfectly with the joy on Beena’s face.

“It’s what I always wanted to do, to show the laughter, the fun, the joy of dance.”

I look forward to working with Dancing Beena more in 2022 and hope I get the chance to see her perform. 

To learn more about Dancing Beena and her classes, visit her website:

www.DancingBeena.com

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Licensed Hemp Farmers since 2020, 2BD Farm is now offering their first retail product. CBD Pet Treats!! 

In October of 2021, I got an email from a couple staring their new business and looking for a logo designer. They sent me a brief history of how the idea for 2BD Farm was conceived.

As Carmen and Scott described their journey to me, they also explained about the dogs. 

“Started with a brunch in Jan 2020 on King St. in downtown Charleston, SC. We walked past a CBD store (Charleston Hemp Collective). Purchased items, talked with highly educated staff,

became intrigued. We talked more, looked up hemp growing laws in Missouri because of my family farm there. Found it was legal to grow industrial hemp and first annual Missouri Hemp Symposium was scheduled for later that month in Kansas City. Booked tickets and went, which started our journey learning more about the plant, benefits, and and the endocannibinoid system.

Back home … we realized that outdoor growing in Missouri was impossible at the moment because of the lack of support/workers there. 

DIdn’t have land here, like in Missouri, so we started down the path of container growing, thinking we could have it on our home site. We purchased the container, had it moved to our property, bought growing equipment, then realized we couldn’t get permits to do it because we didn’t have enough land, which led us to look for a piece of property… and eventually found [property] in McClellanville, a quaint fishing village we both have always loved.

“The name came from loving our two furry friends, one an English Black Lab, the other a Border Collie/German Shepherd mix; both black dogs. We considered Two Black Dogs Farm, but of

course, it felt too wordy, then tried an acronym, 2BD. We loved that it was also a play on CBD.”

The next week I met with Carmen and Scott in person to hear all about their hemp farm and their vision for the logo. Loved their concept and enjoyed talking with them about their goals and plans for the business.  Later, Carmen sent me numerous images of logos they were drawn to for color and style. We worked on refining the logo during the next month and finished up with a final the first of December. Whenever I would send Carmen a layout, she would often draw right on top of it with changes they were intersted in seeing. These visuals were so helpful in the logo development. Since finalizing the logo, we have worked together on packaging for the 2BD Dog Treats, some stickers and a t-shirt graphic. You can see the packaging on their website – and purchase for your own pets.  

Visit 2BD Farm!

2bdfarm.com/

And, find them on social media:

@2bdfarm

Facebook.com/2BDfarm

The post 2BD Farm Logo appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

How long have you been using your current logo? Is it not quite what you wish it was? Maybe it’s some clipart put together when you first opened your business? Ready for a little refresh? Looking for something new and current? Let me help!

Don’t be afraid to change things up a bit! Logos get updated often by companies, both large and small. Take a look at these logo updates from 2021 on designbro.com :

Brands Redesigned

Sometimes, even small changes can give a logo a more up-to-date feel.  Simple changes, like a new palate of colors or a font style change that will keep your logo identifiable and still present a revamped look can make a difference. 

Back in the Fall, I acquired a new local client, Bill Williams, of Down South Floors.  I love working with locals and getting to know more about their small businesses and the owners in my area. Although I still haven’t met Bill in person, talking to him by phone and email has been a delight. Warm, easy, appreciative and friendly, I can see why he has had a successful run with his company and continues to thrive.

Williams emailed me about doing some display headers, featuring his logo – with a revamp. He included a lot of detail about his current logo and his clientele. He explained what he likes and what he doesn’t like about his logo. The information he gave me was helpful in understanding that he didn’t want a rebrand, but only some changes to refresh the logo. Centered by an adorable hound dog, Bill’s idea was to make the dog look a bit more friendly and more appealing to women, who he explained, are his primary clients.  His email included these logo bullet points:

• Personality: Warm and sincere 
• Voice: Soft 
• Tone: Soothing
• Style: Casual
• Look: Southern
• Colors I like: Shades of amber / brown (light to dark), Smokey Greys, natural wood colors (red oak, white oak, hickory)”

I liked this list. It gave me a feel as to what he wants to project with his company, as well as his taste in graphics! We removed the dog’s collar and added a bowtie and changed all the logo colors, which included lightening the dog and adding a bit softer touch to him. After completing his new logo and the display headers, Bill asked me to work on some notebook covers, notebook binders and business cards We continue to work together and I recently worked on some price cards for his individual floor samples. You can’t find Bill online, but you can take a look at his new and refreshed logo!

The post Down South Floors – Logo Refresh appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

The Lawn Lab, providing lawn care services in Charleston, SC.

Ian Paget of LogoGeek says on his blog,  “I frequently see logos that have a great idea, and so much potential, but the way they’ve been put together is not quite there.”

When my new client, TJ of The Lawn Lab, contacted me about his lawn care business, he had a logo that was created by a friend. It was designed with an adorable cartoon dog, but it wasn’t exactly what he wanted. It wasn’t quite “there”. The dog represented his own dog – a black labrador retriever named Moultire and the “Lab” name also went along with his wife’s career in pharmacy. Clever name and close to coming together, but he needed something else to make it more of a lawn maintenance visual.   

I’ve talked before about clients coming to me for a logo update. Logo updates are usually requested for a number of reasons. The logo may have been in use for years and the client decides it’s time for a refresh. Or the logo may have been created by the client themselves when the company was launched and now they are ready for something more professional and unique. The logo may also need an update because of a name change, a need for something more easily scalable or maybe just a change of the heart on the look.  In the case of The Lawn Lab, the client had an element that he liked a lot, but he needed it fine-tuned to include type and the lawn maintenance connection to turn it into his final logo for the business. It was a fun project and we were able to complete the process within two weeks.

Along with clearly identifying what the business is and the services it provides, a critical characteristic of a successful logo is scalability. For The Lawn Lab, TJ would need a variety of sizes for the logo – including everything from uniform shirt prints, invoices and social media to eventually adding it to the side of a truck. It was important to him that the logo could work at 2 inches as well as 4 feet. Also, clients that come to me now know how important it is to have a logo and files that can be used for any kind of social media that they might choose to use in the beginning and in the future … and social media sizing includes a wide variety of sizes. I let all of my clients know that I can provide a variety of sizes when the logo is completed and they can always come back to me for additional sizes and/or configurations.

For The Lawn Lab, I created some polo shirt mock-ups on his layouts to show how the logo would look for his uniforms. It was easy for him to see how legible it would be and whether it would be recognizable in a smaller format size.  I provided files of the full logo and some files with only the type. I know a website is in the works, but for now, you can see (and follow) Charleston, SC based, The Lawn Lab on Instagram! Click below:

The Lawn Lab

The post Lawn Lab – Logo appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

High Performance Homes gets a brand new logo!

Famed logo designer, Paul Rand said “A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies.” My new client, High Performance Homes, had a goal to be identified as a company which works to solve home problems of all types and provides the work to inspect, test, analyze and repair – servicing the whole home to make sure everything is performing properly and efficiently, while using skills that are fine-tuned to the climate in the Southeast. This Charleston, SC family business includes husband, wife, son and others. I recieved an email from wife, Sondra, inquiring about my Logo/Identity Package – and with wit and wisdom, she explained her needs for an updated logo that could be used on uniforms, business cards and a website.

When Sondra and I first exchanged emails, she not only gave me important specifics about the company, she also emailed me a photo of her family so that I would “know who I was working with.” That was the goal on my own website. Along with my work images, finished projects and information, I provide a few photos showing you that I’m a true Charlestonian, with my face to the sun and my feet in pluff mud. In case we don’t meet up in person, you can still get to know who I am through my website, by phone and by email. But if you’re in the Charleston area, I’m always happy to meet with you. 

“We like colors that reflect the nature around us here on the coast, especially blues and greens. My husband’s favorite color is a light or royal blue so that will more than likely be the color of our shirts so the logo should stand out against that background.” These two sentences in her email helped direct my color choices and enabled me to create a color palette for the logo and add layouts showing the different logo designs on a blue shirt, giving them a visual for the logo in use. After a few sets of layouts, we were able to fine tune the final choice and create a color group that Sondra loved. 

The other thing I appreciated about Sondra’s business description was that they have an eye on the future and what the company hopes to include in their services in the coming years. They plan to expand and include both construction and training at some point. 

Sara Blakely, the highly successful entrepreneur and creator of Spanx said “You’ve got to visualize where you’re headed and be very clear about it. Take a polaroid picture of where you’re going to be in a few years.” I’m confident that High Performance Homes has a clear picture of their future and I wish them fabulous success!

I look forward to sharing the website for High Performance Homes very soon, but for now, here is their brand new logo.

The post High Performance Homes – Logo appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

Not all design goes as planned, so learn from the journey and gain new skills along the way …

This Logo/Business Card package didn’t exactly go as according to plan, but don’t sweat it when that happens. Your client often comes to you with a vision – not a visual, but an idea. As graphic designers, we visualize the ideas and start to plan the design in our heads. The client, on the other hand, often just has an idea of what they want to convey, but no idea of how it will look. As they begin to see the layouts and the ideas coming to life, they can be pleasantly surprised or once in a while – sadly disappointed. They may feel their message is not there or they may just be disheartened and feel you can’t produce what they want. My advice to you is to be flexible and willing to try again.

The local business man behind OceanRock Capital, met with me to discuss his Charleston business venture, and needed only a logo and business card to get started. He was not interested yet in a website or any social media visuals. He provided a logo he really liked, a painting done by his dad – and his ideas about what he wanted the logo to convey. We went one direction and tried a number of options and after seeing those, he was ready to throw in the towel. I convinced him to give it another try in a different direction and with a little trial and error, we got back on track in a brand new direction.

That leads me to a second bit of advice. When clients become discouraged and their ideas don’t look as they hoped they would – don’t let them walk away. Your job is to convince them that a new perspective might in order. Convince them to take a second shot and to trust you to try again. This logo began with a strong focus on the “rock” and we moved away from that with the final logo. This simple image, with a few tweaks to get the font and elements as he wanted them, resulted in a logo and business cards that the client was pleased with. It’s tough to put a lot of work into an image – what you felt was exactly what the client asked for and then start again from scratch. Tossing all your files isn’t the answer – archive them because you never know when those elements could be used again. Don’t look at it as time or effort wasted – look at it as opportunity to re-engage the client with a fresh look and a logo they can be proud of. Review the path and what you gained in the process. You probably learned something new in creating the first layouts and will learn more as you venture into a new design.

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