Logos
I've been obsessed with logos since I was a kid. I think it's because when you're too young to read, a logo helps you get pretty close to being able to read and identify what something is - something the grownups held the secret to. My friend’s son said “fries” every time he saw a McDonald’s sign, my mom tells me I knew how to read the One Way sign because of Sesame Street… There were some logos that just fueled my imagination. My uncle had a Magikist keychain hanging on his closet door, The word Magikist was embossed onto red lips. This same logo greeted me home on the expressway - it was giant and lit up, and yet I had no idea what it was, what it meant, what did they do there and WHY did my uncle have a keychain with lips on it from there? In case you’re too young, or not from Chicago, Magikist was a carpet cleaning company who’s tagline was “Kiss of Beauty.”
Creating logos is a serious responsibility. Sure, sometimes it can be fun and clever, but when it comes down to it – you’re developing an image that is represents an entire brand - It may even be a giant light up sign on the side of the expressway one day. I enjoy creating logos and especially find logo trends fascinating. Much like clothes, logos can fall in and out of fashion, but a well developed and designed logo will surpass trends. With over 25 years of experience creating logos, I take on each new logo project with the same imaginative thinking I had as a kid, as well as the grown up strategic thinking I would use on any marketing project.
I met Kaveria Lezza, the founder of BLAC, at a local art fair. She was excited to share her mission of bringing diversity and culture to the community through communication and events. She had so much enthusiasm and great ideas, however, I noticed she didn’t have a lot of graphic materials. Since I am passionate about diversity and love learning from other cultures, I decided to offer my design services pro bono. She thought she was getting help with a flyer, and what she ended up with was a new brand image! But there was a problem… An unfortunate side effect of the acronym BLAC was that she had noticed that many people assumed that it was only one race of people and wasn’t for everyone. This reaction was the OPPOSITE of her mission, and only emphasizes the biases she is trying to break down. It was my personal goal to squash that close-minded thinking and find a way to get people to pause and understand what BLAC stands for – Building Love Amongst Cultures. I used a tilted heart to create the “B” in BLAC, and encouraged her to use the color red. In a time where politics made the color red feel almost unfriendly and icky, I dared to use the most stereotypical color to represent “Love”. I had to. I felt so connected to the mission of BLAC that I felt that the power of love, and positivity, and the goal of bringing people together could take the color red back and emphasize that the organization is based on love and BLAC as well as the color red is for everyone.
Len is a local weight loss coach that uses humor, enthusiasm and positive energy to coach people while losing weight. He had an open mind to my ideas, but really liked the idea of incorporating a scale. I set out to find a bright and fun color palette that spoke to his style and methods. I specifically set the scale to zero so that it left off any demands or expectations clients might have in their weight loss journey.
Once you’ve played roller derby, you want to make everything roller derby. My friends through the “derbiverse” as we like to call it – started up a rec very league at Lombard Roller Rink. They handed me a half-sheet of lined notebook paper with a rough sketch of two skates meeting and squashing the “N.” I also had to incorporate the existing look of the Lombard Roller Rink and it’s brand colors. Even with all of these specific needs, I had a ton of fun putting this together. I took reference photos of my own skates, drew them in Illustrator, and put together this fun logo. It’s awesome to see your friends on wheels wearing a jersey with a logo that you designed on it.
Hilandel is a design label based in New York City, specializing in custom bridal as well as offering a collection of limited-edition ready to wear pieces. She wanted an elegant logo that emphasized that she creates custom (and quite beautiful) wedding dresses for all shapes and sizes. Weddings are synonymous with hard to read, scripty fonts. I steered way clear of that and took inspiration from fonts that stood out with both thick and thin lines that also held up well on a dark or light background, and didn’t drop any ascenders or descenders in a print run.
I have spent my entire life having people misspell my name. As a kid it drove me bonkers, but as I grew older and learned that a lot of the people that have signed my paychecks have spelled my name wrong, so the frustration has gone to the wayside. Whenever people ask me my name, I say Sara, without an h. The domain was available, and the rest is history. But the logo…I’ve always been a rule follower. Sometimes it can be pretty annoying, and when It comes to art and design - you should always want to break, bend, manipulate “the rules.” It reminds me that I can rebel, and should, and I should always push for the best, even if it’s outside the box…or circle – which is why the H is intertwined.
The ABA Journal was running a printed series in 2020 that looked at the role women play in the law. I liked the idea of using glasses to create the 2020. It reminded me of New Year’s Eve glasses made out of the year, and how there is this slight optimism and enthusiasm for the upcoming year. I thought it was a great inspiration to demonstrate a look at women in the law throughout that series.
A local health coach and personal trainer united forces and created a unique class that incorporates weight loss coaching, fitness and meditation all in one packed hour. I used an italic brushstroke plus sign for the “&” symbol and made it the focal point of the logo. The positivity that they promote at each class is reinforced within the logo. No dumbbells were used in making this logo!
A long running column in The ABA Journal Magazine that features law stories from lawyers. I played with the symmetry of the quote marks in a blocky type style, and created my own quote icon. This was one of the early-on logos I’ve made for the Journal and I’m pleased it’s still in use today.
From time to time, The ABA Journal Magazine will create a series of articles that will run over the course of many issues, or appear on the web as a series. Generally they like to have a logo to accompany the series. How I won the Case is a series in which lawyers describe their case and how they went about to win the case. With a strong connection to the courtroom, I felt this logo could benefit from using something that immediately spoke to law, like a column, and chose clean and equal lines for the copy.
A brand new local solar company focused on designing and installing solar systems for home and commercial settings. I utilized the idea that the company wanted to educate others on living a green lifestyle in affordable and achievable steps. I wanted the sun to stand out as much as the green and chose a bright orange that reproduced well under all types of printing applications. Orange can be a tricky color to convert from PMS to CMYK, and I was not deterred from using it.
Mind Your Business is a series for The ABA Journal where experts discuss tools, tricks, and tech that lawyers can utilize in their private practices. I wanted to make sure that the pun in the series title remained while it was clear that it was about business and not being nosey.
