Texas Wildfires Benefit Show Poster

Poster design for Baby Acapulco restuarants, done in Adobe illustrator CS4

Max’s Restaurant Branding and Collateral

Taking a break today from the Kuddable Kakes designs.(see previous blogs).
Here is a logo and branding I did for Max’s Seafood restaurant in New Jersey.
The owner was adamant about using a mussel in the logo. This restaurant had been known for its mussels for decades. As a designer, when you design a logo you think “simplify the image into a graphic shape.” Well when you take this concept and apply it to a mussel, you get a black blob. So the conversation had me trying to explain why most seafood restaurants use a lobster, crab or fish in their logo. The client was not budging…wanted…NEEDED a mussel.

So below is what I came up with. It is actually one of my proudest moments as a designer. I even had the printer emboss the ridges of the mussel on the menu, it makes for a great effect. The process was 1. sketch out in pencil 2. redraw in Adobe Illustrator, finish in Adobe Photoshop.

It is also a prime example of why good logos cost money. Simply put, a good logo, done well, can be a money-maker for the client. This client puts this logo everywhere, commemorative mugs, shot glasses, tee-shirts etc. He has continued to make money on this logo long after he paid his branding bill to me. This logo next to any headline on a billboard IS a billboard or ad. It is that recognizable.

Grackle Austin, Texas Illustration

I am going to take a break today from the Branding and Food Marketing posts to post an illustration I did when I moved to Austin. The city inspired me. The process is simply sketch out rough idea, scan it, finish it in Adobe Illustrator and photoshop.