West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation's mission is to meet the community's recreation, leisure and social needs by acquiring and enhancing public parkland and supporting year-round facilities and programs for youth, teens, adults, families and seniors. Their goal is to enhance the quality of life in West Bloomfield by providing facilities, programs and natural settings for the enjoyment of residents.
To celebrate accomplishing this mission and goal for over 50 years, the executive team and WB Parks wanted a special logo for the year 2020. This logo would be used in lieu of their regular logo. The parameter of the project was simple: keep it branded and incorporate one version of the original logos. From there, I knew I wanted to incorporate nature someway, somehow, whether that was through enhancing the original logo or adding a new element.
I presented six different logos (and their variations) to the leadership team. They enjoyed all of the options but particularly liked option 2 and 5. The final logo selected was option 2 (plus the bird from option 5) as it met their underlying desire for simplicity better.
View some of the logo placements below:

For my JL MC 316 course's final project, we were tasked with developing a restaurant, its brand and marketing collateral. I was inspired to create an Italian restaurant because of my earlier study abroad experience in Italy. I wanted to bring apertivo, or a pre-meal drink with small snacks, to America. Apertivo is a cozy, friendly daily event that allows friends and family to gather and refresh after a day of work before official dinner. I designed this restaurant and its brand under that guise.
Basics
-
Restaurant Name: Via Italia, because streets in Italy begin with "Via" and I wanted the restaurant to be easily recognized as an Italian restaurant.
-
Colors: Burgundy (Pantone 1815 C), Brown (Pantone 411 C) and Green (CMYK: 90, 30, 95, 30 and CMYK: 50, 0, 100, 0).
-
Burgundy represents sophistication and prosperity
-
Brown represents friendliness, warmth and home
-
Green (and accompanying leaves) represents freshness
-
-
Atmosphere: Cozy and friendly atmosphere where friends and family can meet for any get-together, whether it's after-work drinks, date night or graduation dinner. The restaurant is not formal, but it is a place that you would wear at least blue jeans and a nice blouse.
-
Location: Novi, Michigan. I selected this location because it has a nice downtown/shopping district, where our target audience frequents. (Listed address is not real.)