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Nick Benson, a very talented wedding photographer from Monroe, CT, recently came to Visual Lure for a rebrand. During the discovery stages, Nick was consistently referring to one of his wife’s favorite brands, Tory Burch. They both loved the look and feel of the brand and its popular monogram icon.

Inspired by the embellished block serif of the Tory Burch logo, we started sketching similar custom N’s and B’s. That’s when we came across a pleasant little surprise. While drawing a custom letter N, we discovered we could hide a very subtle B in the negative space of the N, similar to how the FedEx logo has the hidden arrow in between the E and the X. It may take a second or two to see it, but once you do, you always will.

At that point we quit sketching as we knew this would be the final mark. We usually provide anywhere from four to eight initial logo options, but for this one, it was the only option we presented to our client. Nick still wanted to see what else I had done but quickly agreed that this logo was it.

Below you can see Nick’s new logo in all its glory with additional format options, one with a shiny golden brass effect added to it along with some sample packaging. We think this mark feels very high-end and screams luxury, two of the main traits our client wanted his new logo to feel.

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We had the pleasure of meeting Pam Baumann at this years Shutterfest. Pam is a professional photographer based out of Limerick, Pennsylvania. She originally started out as a nature photographer and is now focusing more on family and individual portraiture. When we met Pam she had no idea what she wanted her brand to look like. Since we were in the trade show area, I decided to start helping her define her brand by visiting the Photo Flash Drive booth. I asked her what style of zip drive or box was she drawn to. She walked right past the modern crystal drive, and the high-fashion alligator skinned boxes and went immediately towards the premium wood packaging. This was the start of defining her brand. We then discussed what large named brands have an aesthetic that she gravitates towards but she couldn’t think of any. As we walked through the trade show we were discussing the booth designs, that’s when she saw one she really loved. I can’t recall the name of the company, but the booth used worn corrugated metal, reclaimed wood, earth tones and had a very rustic look and feel, yet it still felt inviting and warm. She instantly said that was the direction she wanted to go. Once I saw that booth it reminded me of Timberland, the boot company, so I mentioned that brand to her and she agreed that it had elements she liked.

From there, we discussed what type of logo she wanted, a type-based logo, a monogram, a crest of some kind or one with an icon. Without hesitation Pam said she wanted an icon. We then talked about what the icon could be, as the best ones have some type of meaning behind them. The conversation started with Pam possibly wanting to use hills, a sunset with trees, etc. but I told her icons need to be simple. It then went into possibly using a camera aperture or shutter, which I hate to use unless it is incorporated in a clever and memorable way. We despise photography logos that use generic cameras or shutters, they feel so impersonal and cliche.

This led us to the discussion of possibly using a tree which is a great symbol for family. We talked about using a tree with her initials hidden in the branches, but she was not sold. The conversation then moved into using a leaf or leaves. By this time Pam’s visual brand was pretty well defined. It was natural, rustic and colorful yet warm. That is when it hit me, using leaves to create an camera aperture. I drew a quick sketch and Pam was instantly sold. My first concern was has it been done before, I searched a couple of the largest logo databases along with Google Images and found nothing. This made us both extremely happy.

Below in Pam’s new logo along with the beginning stages of her visual branding package, including sample identity, flash drive packaging, typefaces and color palettes.

Do you need help defining your brand and implementing a full identity package to match? Give Visual Lure a call today at 618-407-9231, we would love to help you find your brand.

Click here to view more of our photography logos and branding packages »

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