Re-Design: Joy Creek Nursery

With gardening season upon us (at least in the Pacific Northwest with improvements in the weather), I look forward to pushing myself away from the computer much more for some playing in the dirt as "garden therapy." My partner Ed, family and friends still marvel, and snicker, at the fact I've become a such a gardener since moving to our North Portland house. Part of my enthusiasm is due to the efforts of Joy Creek Nursery in preparing an incredible palette for the digging, planting, weeding and enjoyment of my garden. As Joy Creek Nursery celebrates a 15th year in business I'm taking a look back at their logo redesign project.

The original logo for Joy Creek Nursery was created by a local print shop out of an immediate need when the business started. A “brand” for the company was then established by using the existing identity on signage, business cards, print ads, catalogues and other items. For designing other marketing and promotion items, and use by the owners, a digital logo was provided in the resolution shown.

In 1998, my thoughts about the existing logo, and its reproduction issues, were conveyed to the owners, who are friends of mine. The inconsistent weight of the letters in the text, the haphazard computer manipulation of the letterforms, the poor quality of the only existing digital imagery, and the two typefaces used in the design blended to convey a graphically unprofessional image for the high-end specialty nursery.

The client expressed concern about introducing a “new” logo after having been in business for some time. They were informed that a “revised” design could maintain a sense of the existing brand, while projecting more professionalism.

The new logo, using a more elegant type, still says “Joy Creek Nursery” to the firm’s clients and vendors. The flowing form between the words hints at the actual creek flowing through the nursery property when presented in blue and conveys an image of the rolling hills of the area when the logo is printed produced as a one-color design in green.

The Joy Creek identity has received its fair share of recognition. The design received a LOGO 2001 award and, as a result appears in the book The New Big Book of Logos. It also is featured in the volumes Logo Design for Small Business 2, Logos Redesigned: How 200 Companies Successfully Changed Their Image and New Logo World (Japan).

Previous bLog-oMotives entries featured additional identity re-designs: Benicia Historical MuseumOur House of PortlandNorth Portland Business AssociationJust OutLaugh Lover's Ball. Redesigns from designers around the world are the focus of my next book, Identity Crisis!, to be released in the fall of 2007.

You can read the latest from Joy Creek Nursery on their blog, The Joy Creek Times

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

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