It was a year of firsts for the HOW Logo Design Awards, the competition that began recognizing great logo design in 2008. This year, the two Reader’s Choice winners will get a Big Ticket registration to HOW Design Live 2017, and all 20 winners will be featured in the pages of the Summer 2017 issue of the award-winning HOW magazine. (Subscribe today to get the issue on your doorstep!)
HOW is proud to present the 20 winners of the 8th Annual HOW Logo Design Awards in the gallery below. These winning projects were selected from among nearly 1,200 submissions by Landor New York’s Wally Krantz, with support from the HOW editorial staff.
All 20 winners went head-to-head in an online Reader’s Choice voting. The GUND Rebrand received 39% of votes in the logo design category, and Vallier Bistro received 39% in the identity applications category, making them the Reader’s Choice winners this year.
Reader’s Choice in the Logo Design Category: GUND Rebrand
DESIGN FIRM Cynda Media Lab, Englewood Cliffs, NJ; www.cyndamedia.com
CREATIVE TEAM C. J. Yeh, Christie Shin, art directors; Fred Pirlot, designer
CLIENT GUND
DETAILS GUND is the oldest manufacturer of soft toys in America, and also the first teddy bear manufacturer to truly capture emotion and facial expression in their product shots of plush toys. GUND’s new brand identity design pays homage to this tradition by focusing on the most emotionally expressive elements of GUND’s signature products. It emphasizes the intangible qualities of the company’s work over the physical, reflecting the emotional investment that develops among their consumers.
Reader’s Choice in the Identity Application Category: Vallier Bistro
DESIGN FIRM Phoenix the Creative Studio, Montreal, Quebec; www.phoenix.cool
CREATIVE TEAM Louis Paquet, creative director; Christopher Nicola, art director; Clement Piganeau, Anthony Morell, designers; Fouad Mallouk, account manager
CLIENT Vallier Bistro
DETAILS Ten years ago, Mr. Vallier Dufour founded Vallier. Wishing to “dust off” the place, he closed for a winter and has undertaken a major facelift. Result: Vallier is a restaurant that specializes in creative and comforting cuisine with French bistro-style dishes. Vallier offers its customers a whole new menu and a whole new decor to make the restaurant warmer, lighter and add comfort. Phoenix was asked to tackle the brand identity, a new logo and all of their communicational tools, in addition to the design and development of their new website.
Winners in the Logo Design Category
1. Cochon Dingue
DESIGN FIRM LMG Communication graphique, Québec; www.lmgcom.com
CREATIVE TEAM Jacques-Dominique Landry, Louis Martin, creative directors; Mathieu Tremblay, art director/designer; Laurent Grislain, designer/photographer
CLIENT Groupe Restos Plaisirs
DETAILS Fascinated by France, the client wanted to bring back, from 36 years ago, the spirit of French bistro in his restaurants. In this rebranding project, the challenge was to translate that in a clearer, simpler design compared to the original logo. And all of that with a funny side (Cochon Dingue means « crazy pig »). With vintage-French-poster–inspired typography and its famous bleu-blanc-rouge palette, the new branding clearly shows his French roots. The logo now features a more energizing and crazier pig. Jumping on a trampoline or walking on his front legs—it’s up to you to imagine it!
2. Craft
COMPANY/CLIENT InVision App, New York City; www.invisionapp.com
CREATIVE TEAM Aaron Stump, art director; Jared Granger, art director/designer
DETAILS Craft is a suite of plugins that empowers designers to create digital products using real, relevant data. The Craft logo illustrates the concept of joining as well as unfolding; specifically, the joining together of all the aspects within the design process to reveal the final product. The logo also reflects movement, which echoes the ongoing, iterative process inherent to thoughtful design.
3. DIRT // Logo
DESIGN FIRM helium creative, Fort Lauderdale, FL; www.heliumcreative.com
CREATIVE TEAM Christopher Heller, Ryan Sirois, art directors; Kelly Gedvilas, designer
CLIENT DIRT
DETAILS Miami Beach farm-to-counter eatery and wellness bar DIRT approached helium creative in desperate need of help. They had a name that didn’t fit their audience and no identity at all. After the firm’s naming + brand development process, DIRT was born, and since then it has soared to be one the most popular restaurants in Miami. Helium creative gets almost daily compliments on its brand work for DIRT, including the logo. Purposely clean-cut and structured, the logo is meant to give way to focusing on the important stuff—the food. The little tilt in the ‘I’ and the tagline, EAT CLEAN, is a nod to living life a little different and a little healthier.
4. Dixie Identity
DESIGN FIRM Landor, Cincinnati; https://landor.com
CREATIVE TEAM Dale Doyle, executive creative director; Grant Collinsworth, creative director; Zack Mueller, designer
CLIENT Georgia Pacific
DETAILS Saul Bass designed the Dixie identity back in 1969. Over the years the mark evolved into a more dynamic and expressive wordmark to bring to life the positioning of the brand. Landor wanted to bring back the simplistic spirit of the original identity that Saul Bass created in order to connect with today’s consumer. The new mark is modern, simple, yet full of life.
Note: The judge was unaware that the Dixie logo was a Landor design when he selected it. HOW acknowledges the judge’s connection to Landor. The Dixie logo was evaluated and seconded as winner by a HOW art director and the HOW editorial staff.
5. Drei Brüder
DESIGN FIRM Peppermill Projects, Annapolis, MD; www.peppermillprojects.com
CREATIVE TEAM Jennifer Culpepper, art director; Grace Rudder, designer
CLIENT Old Stein Inn
DETAILS Drei Brüder is the brand name for a line of packaged goods made in the kitchen of the Old Stein Inn, a German restaurant in Maryland. Drei Brüder means “three brothers” in German and is named for the three young sons of the owners. The team designed the Drei Brüder logo to fit within the Old Stein brand by using similar fonts and colors. They also illustrated the three toe-headed boys who frequently help out in the garden to share a bit of their personalities.
6. L’Espace Public
DESIGN FIRM Écorce, Montreal; www.ecorce.ca
CREATIVE TEAM Karl-Frédéric Anctil , creative director; Xavier Coulombe-Murray, Julie Poulin, art directors; Rafik Andraos, production designer
CLIENT L’Espace Public
DETAILS The microbrewery’s new brand image needed to represent all five master brewers at Espace Public, including their passion for beer and pride in the Montreal district they are based in. The pigeon—a bird that always travels in flocks, is not shy about staking out its place and can be found everywhere, especially in public places—was made the emblem of the brewery and will be featured on all of the company’s communications.
7. Majorette
DESIGN FIRM Almanac, Saint Louis, MO; www.brandalmanac.com
CREATIVE TEAM Nathan Sprehe, art director; Katie Hileman, designer
CLIENT Majorette
DETAILS Majorette is St. Louis’ latest event space and is a younger (wilder) sister to Boo Cat Club. With a loud voice and tassels everywhere, Majorette brings together the curious, creative people of St. Louis. After uncovering a brand voice, Majorette’s visual identity quickly came to life, demanding everyone around her to have fun. The vibrant and arresting print collateral, exterior signage and (ahem) attention-grabbing website immediately draw you in to Majorette’s spirit
8. Publicis.Sapient
DESIGN FIRM/CLIENT Publicis.Sapient, New York City; www.publicis.sapient.com
CREATIVE TEAM Gaston Legorburu, chief creative strategist; Matthew Jacobson, executive vice president, design; Allison Bistrong, creative director; James Alleman, associate creative director; Matt Keeler, senior art director; Jonathan Candelaria, Jordan Rivero, art directors; Cindy Maria Jimenez, senior designer; Wailam Pan, design manager; Katarina Bromberg, marketing director; Leyvani Escallon, manager project management; Tim Tonsel, senior manager technology; Mike Zevitas, Dustin Mershon, senior interactive developers; Sergio Gutierrez, senior manager project management; Kevin Williams, interactive development manager; Chris Tomotsugu, Sofia Puerto, interactive developers
DETAILS The Publicis.Sapient platform represents a new model within Publicis Groupe, which demands a visual identity that defines a culture of collaboration.
he firm needed to show C-Suite business leaders and analysts how it’s built to leverage an unprecedented scale of seamless capabilities, and at the same time show the internal team how they fit in to the bigger picture of P.S while remaining connected to their current agency.
To that end, the team created a modular identity system, built on the idea of alchemy—the magical process of transformation, creation and combination. The firm is both a collection and a connection of elements—while every day they are hydrogen, some days they get to be a part of creating water. So far our brand rollout has been articulated through a digital style guide, and applied through digital communications, an exhibit at the Adobe Summit, stationery, swag, promotional materials, even on Fenway Park’s Green Monster.
9. Sharpie Slam ATL
STUDENT Tayllor Battle, Atlanta; www.tayllorbattle.com
INSTRUCTOR Colleen Finn, www.colleenfinn.com
SCHOOL The Creative Circus, Atlanta; www.creativecircus.edu
DETAILS Top Atlanta artists went toe-to-toe in an exciting, interactive art competition. Teams were given a theme, a foam board and unlimited sharpies to develop their masterpiece. Battle created this logo as a celebration of the event, incorporating the rooftop environment and the triumphant power of the marker.
Winners in the Identity Application Category
1. 1907 Meat Co.
DESIGN FIRM Ghost, Oklahoma City, OK; www.ghostokc.com
CREATIVE TEAM Matthew Pickett, art director; Ryan Fuller, Hannah Ashford, designers
CLIENT 1907 Meat Co.
DETAILS From farm-to-plate is at the heart of the quality meat offered from 1907 Meat Company. This startup maintains close relationships every step of the way—from the farmers and animals to the facilities processing the cuts—ensuring a premium standard that did not exist in this market previously. 1907 is the year of statehood for Oklahoma. That state pride is captured in an identity system that includes a strong palette, tags and stamps parted with great photography of the actual farmers and animals in the story. The tagline was also developed through this exploration: “The premium standard wasn’t available. So we created it.”
2. Addison Elementary
DESIGN FIRM Tompert Design, Palo Alto, CA; www.tompertdesign.com
CREATIVE TEAM Claudia Huber Tompert, art director; Adam Houghton, designer
CLIENT Addison Elementary School
DETAILS Based on a superhero theme, Tompert Design created a new logo for Addison Elementary School (Palo Alto, CA) as part of the annual fundraising auction—the firm’s pay-it-forward project for 2015. The bright primary colors and fresh design approach were just what was needed to achieve powerful participation for the incredible event. And then Whoosh! The logo design morphed into ever-more adventurous projects befitting these heroic agents of education.
3. Adventure Philanthropist
DESIGN FIRM wkrm design, Austin; www.wkrmdesign.com
CREATIVE TEAM Jiwon Park, art director; Emily Jarvis, brand design lead; Hillary Henrici, designer; Emily Jarvis, Hillary Henrici, brand system designers; Whitney Chen, Denise Zaldivar, UI designers
CLIENT Adventure Philanthropist (Erin Michelson)
DETAILS Adventure Philanthropist is an interactive media company that provides the mechanisms and motivation for individuals to participate in philanthropic activities.
The philanthropic personality test carefully assesses individuals to discover and define their philanthropic personality type. At the end of the quiz, a set of curated philanthropic activities will be revealed based on the defined philanthropic personality type and the chosen cause.
A unique pattern-filled badge system generates personalized badge symbols that each user will build up themselves while answering the ten questions. This personalized visual system not only highlights the fun of philanthropy, but also nurtures motivation and promotes the infinite possibilities for good-doing.
4. Cochon Dingue
DESIGN FIRM LMG Communication graphique, Québec; www.lmgcom.com
CREATIVE TEAM Jacques-Dominique Landry, Louis Martin, creative directors; Mathieu Tremblay, art director/designer; Laurent Grislain, designer/photographer
CLIENT Groupe Restos Plaisirs
DETAILS Fascinated by France, the client wanted to bring back, from 36 years ago, the spirit of French bistro in his restaurants. In this rebranding project, the challenge was to translate that in a clearer, simpler design compared to the original logo. And all of that with a funny side (Cochon Dingue means « crazy pig »).
With vintage-French-poster–inspired typography and its famous bleu-blanc-rouge palette, the new branding clearly shows his French roots. The logo now features a more energizing and crazier pig. Jumping on a trampoline or walking on his front legs—it’s up to you to imagine it!
5. L’Espace Public
DESIGN FIRM Écorce, Montreal; www.ecorce.ca
CREATIVE TEAM Karl-Frédéric Anctil , creative director; Xavier Coulombe-Murray, Julie Poulin, art directors; Rafik Andraos, production designer
CLIENT L’Espace Public
DETAILS The microbrewery’s new brand image needed to represent all five master brewers at Espace Public, including their passion for beer and pride in the Montreal district they are based in. The pigeon—a bird that always travels in flocks, is not shy about staking out its place and can be found everywhere, especially in public places—was made the emblem of the brewery and will be featured on all of the company’s communications.
6. Method + Standard Vodka Identity
DESIGN FIRM Device Creative Collaborative, Winston-Salem, NC; www.wearedevice.com
CREATIVE TEAM Ross Clodfelter, Shane Cranford, art directors/designers; Noemi Zelaya, designer; Stephanie Campisi, Reid Thorpe, copywriters; Dianne Sutherland, illustrator; V.K. Rees, photographer
CLIENT Piedmont Distillers, Inc.
DETAILS Method + Standard is a vodka for those who care equally about what goes in to the bottle as what comes out of it. This dual-concept approach is embodied in a brand identity as carefully crafted as the vodka itself. Embracing the spirit’s all-natural, additive-free, small-batch sensibility—following it from the sourcing of its off-the-branch ingredients to the memorable experience of the final pour—each design element underpins the notion that it’s the method that creates the standard, and that the two are inseparably intertwined.
7. Press Cafe
DESIGN FIRM Pivot Group, Portland, OR; www.askpivot.com
CREATIVE TEAM Alyssa Wise, Joey Bianco, creative directors; Rachel Getsinger, art director/designer; Kelsie Montgomery, designer; Amanda Kate Howard, production coordinator
CLIENT Press Cafe
DETAILS The Press Cafe logo was created out of a desire to represent the pride the cafe has in its rich Northwest heritage. The brand contains versatile marks that are used across a variety of applications. The brand and space grew into a cozy and modern lodge. Dark wood, antique metal canteens and cups, and framed maps of Oregon’s forest areas contribute to the cozy atmosphere. The focal point of the space is undoubtedly the fireplace with beautiful shelving surrounding a white ceramic deer head. Press Cafe captures a unique experience and taste of the Northwest.
8. The Cobbler at 1558
DESIGN FIRM Conduit Studio, Grand Rapids, MI; www.conduitstudio.com
CREATIVE TEAM John O’Neill, art director; Ryan Mitchell, Kelly O’Hara, designers;
CLIENT The Cobbler at 1558
DETAILS As he took over a generations-old cobbler shop in the quirky neighborhood of Eastown, Conduit Studio’s friend Romie wanted a brand that respected the shop’s history while signaling a new, modern-day outlook. Based on studies of historical industrial lettering, the studio created a custom typeface with roots in the past and enough eccentricities to feel fresh. This became the touchpoint for the brand. They renamed the shop, which specializes in shoe repair and bespoke leather coloring and treatment, to highlight the address and emphasize its hyper-local, neighborhood focus.
9. Wulf’s Fish
DESIGN FIRM Vervaine Design Studio, Chatham, MA; <a href="ht