This was a fun one. Our client, Patrick, came to us in the midst of the pandemic as he was recording an album, looking to develop a logo design and brand identity for his musical alter ego. Dubbed Jake Legs, Patrick was looking to leverage his guitar skills into a more formal musical side hustle, promoting his abilities as a live performer, session musician, and guitar teacher.
The vibe he wanted to capture was a distinctly American one. During our discovery process, we landed on a brand personality of Gritty, Modest, Vintage, and Citybilly, which certainly created a lot of room for good creative exploration. Talking about his musical and design influences also helped us get in the right head-space, with artists like Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Merle Travis, and Tony Rice shaping his sound, and designers and brands like Hatch Show Print, TK Smith, and CBGB informing the look he wanted.
In the end, we wound up creating a few versions of the logo, but all of them live together well and create a really dynamic visual package. The guitar-neck version uses type to complete the visual reference, and we also created a guitar-pick version and a typography solution, as well as a business card design, letterhead, poster design, and other promotional materials.
