They Call Me Mellow Yellow

A short lesson in color selection. Yellow is the happiest primary color. One of the strongest colors to pull in a viewer from signage. Next time you are on the road look around at how many signs use yellow and black. Yellow and navy. Yellow and red. Can you say, McYellow? From the paintings of Rembrandt to Lichtenstein, yellow has been used effectively with great control. When yellow is out of control, terrible things happen.

This pre-disco 1975 image from www.jalopyjournal.com takes happiness and freedom to a whole new level. A dude of great courage in an unfortunate alignment of yellow clash and fashion blindness. Penny loafers aside, can we assume the gent in the middle dressed in the dark...with the aid of a strobe light. 

It also points out the sound practice of conscientious decision making. Think of the unconscientious decisions made before this guy ventured out of his groovy abode. In a couple of years, he will hit the disco floor in, no doubt, bell bottom shorts.

Recycling Shirt Design

About a year ago, I designed an award winning logo for Kedia Recycling in Hamilton, New Jersey. I am currently working with the company developing stationery, business cards and T-shirt designs after a company name change. Now called, Kedia Metals, above is one such design on navy tee with the revised logo featured on the back of the suggested tee (right).

My task was to design a tee that even people outside the recycling business might find cool to wear. An edgy, contemporary front with a selected subject for the back. Each tee has a different recycling subject on the back, this featuring an aluminum can.

When Appearance is Everything

One of the most beautiful airliners every designed was Convair's 990. It's smaller, younger brother, the 880, was equally stunning, but other than setting speed records (it was the fastest airliner until the Concorde) it arrived too late and too small to compete with the Boeing 707 or Douglas DC8. It was a failure in the USA with only about 35 being manufactured during its short, ten year career. It could not carry enough passengers to justify its thirst for fuel. It fared better in Europe where flight distances were reduced. 

In this classic American Airlines scheme, a carry over from the old prop days, it exudes style and excitement. From the fighter-like nose cone to the stove pipe jets; to the anti-shock pods on the wing's trailing edge, it was truly a unique beauty to behold. The design screams speed and many pilots felt they were in a very special class to command such a plane. A classic life example when outward appearance overshadows many inner flaws.

New Web site Logo

My most recent logo design was for a news blog, Angry White Dude. My visit to the site immediately brought to mind a dart board (imagine that) which became the basis for the logo. It was an instant success. The site's authors are going to target some thing, person or cause on a regular basis. Not much else to say except  the logo looks pretty awesome in the banner. A simple design which directly supports the site.

This site totally shuns any political correctness, skewering many in the process with sarcasm. There will be something on the site to either cheer or disapprove of I am sure. Just don't get in a tizzy over it. Just because someone does not share your opinion, does not mean it is not valid.

Community Logo Designs

One of my latest logo design wins is for two residential communities under development by Innovative Residential. They are a leading real estate developer in Saskatchewan building attractive communities with quality homes for families.

There was a desire to have two distinct logos, both representing an upscale community environment and having a family resemblance. An approach used many times, both are clean and stylish if not groundbreaking in concept. Providing the right end result is always my first concern. This time it has worked, as this brief testimonial attests:

"Mr. Burgess was extremely efficient and willing to submit numerous iterations based on our comments and feedback. A creative designer with good attention to detail."