I am over the moon to be able to put this presentation together for you. Yes! It’s another brewing branding project, and yes they’re another amazing brewery. What I love about this project though is that I really pushed myself to come up with something unique in this crowded market. Craft beer is going gangbusters at the moment in Australia and for this project I wanted to design a logo suite and corporate identity system that drew on every aspect of my graphic design skills. From lettering and typography, illustration and packaging layout design, this project has it all and I am super proud of the outcome. Their beer is next level and they needed an identity that lived up to the hype surrounding their beautifully delicious craft beer. I’ve also tipped my hat to the American influence it’s had with the resurgence of craft beer. If you ever see their brews out in the wild, grab yourself some. Trust me, you’ll be in hop heaven.
The three lads from Black Hops Brewery (Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast) came to me in late 2015 with a request to help them rebrand. Playing on the military pun of their name “Black (H)ops” they were concerned their current military style logo was going to pigeon hole their audience. Wanting to be more accessible to a wider demographic it was my job to balance the act of not turning my back on their military past, yet infuse a sense of approachability so that it wasn’t just young play station loving men that loved to sample their fine tasting craft beers. Check out this blog post from Black Hops that documents the process, including a conference call I had with the boys at one of the key design stages. Classic listening, scattered with colourful language.
I defy any designer to not fall in love with the awesomeness of a bald eagle when doing the research to recreate one in an iconic logo form. Such was the joy of this assignment. This logo / corporate identity project was for a company entering the market in the USA for outdoor power equipment. Yardmax launched recently so I’m proud to show you how I presented the concept to them. Not a lot changed as the client loved it. They say “happy wife, happy life” I think you can throw client in there too.
I’m currently in the process of rebranding a very old pub in Adelaide that has an abundance of craft beer and good food. It’s getting a little visual love in the way of a refurb and to compliment this reufb I was asked to give it a new fresh corporate identity. To do this I went back in time to research Sir Robert Dudley, the 1st Earl of Leicester and found a really cool fireplace of his that had an old heraldic emblem masoned out of marble. So that gave me the idea to recreate a modern and contemporary adaptation of this circular crest and provide a flexible logo suite that could roll out across the new improved pubs, stationery, menus and signage.
Above is the Fireplace at Kenilworth Castle, decorated with heraldic emblems of Robert Dudley and the letters R and L for “Robert Leicester”
Alrighty, like a bandaid… STRAIGHT OFF!
This is an unused logo and corporate identity concept.
There, I said it.
Blue Water is a digital agency in Washington DC and they’re a fantastic client that has commissioned me to do a number of projects. Originally when asked to design their new logo and visual identity rebrand I was asked to craft something with a hand made aesthetic to mirror their values of being a digital agency that takes pride in constructing websites with artisan code. Code that’s crafted with the same love and detail that you expect from a more tactile craftsman. To do this, whilst still honour the fact they are a “digital agency” I hand crafted their logo using a soft tipped brush pen with blue water (blue ink plus water) and then complimented the visual assets that support the logo with patterns and devices that are influenced by coding tag ( < > ) motifs.
This, along with my ‘Mandy’ project are now my most favourite unused projects.
Why wasn’t it used? Understandably the corporate side of the business needed to shine more. That presentation is coming soon.
This logo and branding assignment is one of my most favourite projects and I’m delighted to finally share it with you on my website. Usually when I get briefed on a project I immediately get visions of how that visual identity should present. Sometimes when executing an idea, along the way the process can evolve to become something that differs from what you first envisioned. Not the case for this Italian Restaurant Bar that’s values are very enriched in tradition. The outcome is exactly as I first visualised and the process getting there was nothing but enjoyable. It’s always a delight to see it come together and I hope you enjoy the process video of crafting the logo with my brush pen calligraphy.
Cavalier Logo Process from Matt Vergotis on Vimeo.
2013 was another huge year for me creating logos and corporate identities for companies. But the one real flavour of 2013 was again ‘lettering’. If 2012 kicked off this style for me, 2013 solidified it as a skill set that saw clients from all around the world desiring it. I have always tried to be very versatile in terms of styles, as it’s the variety and diversity of every individual client requirement that dictates the style execution that’s best suited for them (what a mouthful). In a nutshell; every client is unique, so therefor every client requires a different approach. This is why I love my job so much – It’s problem solving and it keeps things interesting.
So here’s to another year of designing. I hope you like my snap shot of 2013 in the form of logos.
All the best and have a wonderful 2014.
Matt
Here’s a collection of all the logos I created in 2012. It’s strange when you collate your years work of logo design, pooling them together for one post, as you often forget just how many logo and brand identity projects you actually worked on through the year. I’m proud of this bunch and there’s not one logo I’ve left out. So here’s to 2012, my most enjoyable year yet – and here’s to 2013 and my endeavour to become better at lettering and typeface design.
All logos Designed and Built by Matt Vergotis
Here is a collection of all the logos I created in 2011. This was a very enjoyable year for me, as I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to indulge myself in some really exciting and varied logo and identity design projects. This enabled me to explore and learn some new styles. Over time I will start writing a little about each logo.
In the meantime, here’s a snapshot of my 2011.
All logos Designed and Built by Matt Vergotis
Here is another collection of my logo designs. This time they’re from 2010 and beyond, some dating back to over a decade old. It’s always interesting to see how your styles and techniques evolve. At the very top, the cobode logo was the first logo of mine to be gallerized on the front page of logopond. It also attracted a lot of interest on behance with a mock presentation I put together. This presentation snagged my first overseas client all the way from Istanbul, Turkey.