This is a story about the pitfalls of logo design. A jumble of expectations, miscommunications, a little anger, some laughter, frustrations and then smiles. Logo design creates interesting situations that are a lesson in how a client can struggle to express their creative thoughts when working in an unfamiliar environment (graphic design) and a designers struggle to achieve that vision.

Shannon-Rose Design created the logo for a new restaurant, Son Of A Sailor, opening in Bolton Landing on Lake George. Tim Mulchy has been a web client for several years, and wanted us to design a logo for a restaurant he purchased.

At the first meeting we established the criteria for the development of the logo. Normally, we have a very disciplined process for developing logos, but this one had a small budget, including the price of an old porch post. Because of this, we broke our own rules to keep the expenses down. Internally, we began with an inspiration board to define style and design elements. Normally we bring the client in at this stage, but we thought we could quickly work through this stage.

Celtic Concept Board For Son Of A Sailor

Miscommunication and misinterpretation are common problems when talking about design. Clients often struggle to express the image in their head. The Son of A Sailor logo was just such a situation. Amber was the first to take a stab at it, creating several versions of the logo:

Amber's Initial Concepts

They weren’t exactly what he had in mind. We didn’t hit his mark: he needed to be a “salty” sailor, with a twinkle in his eye, and an upturned nose. Also, he wanted a more “illustrated” style. Less refined.

Bryan gave it a shot next, sending over a couple more ideas to take a look at. He got a similar response.

Second Round Concepts by Bryan

The feedback was similar to the first round.

So where was the miscommunication? There were several questions—what exactly is a “salty sailor”? How do you illustrate a twinkle in a person’s eye? The staff at Shannon-Rose huddled together to try and figure out what we were missing, and we came up with the conclusion that the problem was stylistic, rather than compositional. Amber and Bryan drew up some sketches to send us in a new direction, and we pressed on.

Back To The Drawing Board, And New Ideas

Tim, our client, liked the hand-drawn feel; we caught the twinkle in his eye this go-round. We decided the final art should be charcoal on watercolor paper, to give it a rustic feel. Here is the result of the final black and white illustration:

A glint in the eye, an upturned nose, and a salty attitude.

Next we had to develop the final color version and then design the illustration into a logo design. Amber created the color version in photoshop.

The final approved Son of a Sailor Logo

In the end, Son Of A Sailor Restaurant was happy with their new logo, and the staff at Shannon-Rose was at times humbled about listening. I got an old porch post.

Tags:   logo design