New Logo Inspired by Stencil Pattern
As you may have noticed,
Cutting Edge Stencils recently updated its logo, featuring a portion of our
Nagoya stencil pattern! The new logo was a collaborative effort between Janna, Greg, and myself. We are still in the process of applying our stencil pattern logo to all entities of our Cutting Edge Stencils brand, but it already has a strong presence on our
social media sites. Creating a logo is a lengthy process that is more complex than you may think! Here is a summary of how our new logo was created and what it represents, complete with some select imagery from the process:
Branding Brief
Our original logo had an old-fashioned vibe and was a poor representation of our trendy stencil company. After all, we are Cutting Edge Stencils...our logo needed to be cutting edge! To begin the process, I started by creating a branding brief of Cutting Edge Stencils, including our company overview, target market, competitive difference, etc. Putting all of this information into writing helped to keep our focus clear throughout the entire process. It also allowed us to realize what we wanted to convey with our new logo and how we could communicate that visually.
Mood Boards
Afterwords, I created three mood boards: word, visual, and logo. The word mood board was created to further clarify the voice and personality of Cutting Edge Stencils. Some of the words and phrases included were "women 24-34," "home decorators," "DIY," "modern homes," and "designer look." Next, a visual mood board was created, consisting of images related to the company and its mission – think
Pinterest! Finally, I put together a
logo mood board of various aesthetically pleasing, creative, and smart logos to serve as inspiration for success.
Initial Studies
Next, I began exploring possible concepts through hand sketches – different marks, type treatments, etc. Following, I conducted a bunch of type studies, looking into both serif and sans-serif typefaces, as well as uppercase and lowercase. Color studies came next, as I investigated many colors that could be used in a variety of combinations.
Computer Mock-Ups
Finally, I was ready to start creating mock-ups on the computer. Based on some of my best hand sketches, type studies, and color studies, I created many different logo possibilities. From these mock-ups, a few were selected to hone in on, leading us to our final logo.
New and Improved
After looking at many drafts of different combinations and possibilities, Janna introduced a cropped version of our Nagoya stencil pattern, paired with type from one of my earlier mock-ups. We continued to tinker with small details, such as how the line element should be styled, and moved on to play with color combinations. Eventually, we settled on
yellow and grey, a hot color trend right now. Janna said what she likes about the new logo is that it says "pattern, stencil, design, floral, feminine, classy, trendy, and color...pretty much everything we need to convey!" This logo also allows us flexibility to easily change the pattern and/or colors every five years or so when it may need another update.
What are your thoughts on our new stencil pattern logo? Please comment below, and thanks for reading!
Emily and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew
