Last year while attempting to move my biker cartoon shirts at a poker run in Sa
linas, I met Molly Kight of Triker Travel, who was at the time looking for a logo for her developing show. Not long ago she contacted me again, looking for me to create a logo for her husband Randy's BBQ catering company, Randy's Grub Rub & BBQ.
It took a fair number of drawings to get it dialed in, but I can honestly say it's one of the coolest designs I've done so far. The process looked at a few concepts and used up a bit of paper in developing the idea and the character. At one point I thought maybe I knew more about what Randy needed than he did, but in the end, once I committed to getting him the look and pose he wanted, it came out much better.
Step one of any design is always the rough drawings. I set up some large newsprint on my easel and went to work, drawing rough and fast with a General's Layout pencil, looking for the look and feel that would go where I wanted it to go.
The idea I had was to create a character and incorporate him into a logo. The character was based on a sketch Molly sent that captured an essence of masculinity and attitude in an anthropomorphized bull
character, complete with tattoos and a raised eyebrow
For a moment I thought maybe we should just use
that drawing, but I persevered and moved forward. The initial set of drawings felt disappointing to me and fell short of the sketch I was sent. I always have to remember that the look of a project at the end is rarely anything like the starting point in style, quality, or concept.
This photo shows a sheet of newsprint with number of differetn ideas on it. At one point I thought it would be cool to use the look of a USDA stamp as part of the logo. I'd have to say that was a distraction, but still time well spent.
Then I got an inspiration of some kind where
our Bull Chef is celebrating, roaring his dominance, while holding his BBQ utinsels above him. I was convinced this was the winner. I revised the pose to constrain the horns between the shoulders so as not to hide one or the other behind the bull's arm. You can see
in the revised sketch that the form of the torso has been studied and developed further. I really felt good about this, but Randy wanted more of a flexing pose, the bodybuilder's "crab" flex.
Frankly it took me a few days of random sketches to get behind this. I was troubled by where to put the fork and hook so that they would read and be visible. Finally I realized that if I crossed them below the pose in his hands, it would support and frame the pose, adding to the geometry of the logo. More importantly, I had to come around to favoring the client's idea more than mine. I felt a responsibility to give that pose my best effort, not merely to put one together that would make my favorite idea the better one, but one that gave it a run for its money.
I also came to believe that I had to approach the project as if the success of Randy's business absolutely depended on the qu
ality of the logo. In truth, Randy's business depends on the quality of his BBQ, the service he and his staff offer, and the other obvious business details. But I wanted to create a logo that would represent Randy's Grub Rub & BBQ in the way he wants, and do create one that would never need update or revision regardless of where the business goes.
I also have to mention that Leslie Cabarga's book, Logo Font & Lettering Bible, was an invaluable resource in this project. Leslie's work is inspirational and instructive to me. Google the name and a ton of credits and terrific books come up.
