Below are various logos that I have designed either through my current job for internal-use or other brands, along with one that was developed for a sports team.
Scope: Redesign the DDF logo to feel more modern and fit more with Delta Dental's overall brand. (The DDF is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental, which provides funding, support, grants and educational materials and all things oral health-related for teachers, parents, children, dentists, dental schools, students, etc.)
Audience: External
Timeframe: 5-7 days
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: I created several different options while showing what it would look like in one color and black/white. I also created mock-ups of what it would look like when used on marketing materials. Overall, the simplicity of the logo has been very well-received.
Scope: Develop a logo for Roosevelt, which is claims processing software. The logo needed to give a nod to Franklin D. Roosevelt's because when he was president, he created new reforms including the New Deal, which expanded the role of the federal government in may aspects of employment, agriculture, emergency relief and health. It was decided that the nod to FDR would be his glasses, so I was told to incorporate them into the logo.
Audience: External
Timeframe: 2 weeks
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: The logo took quite a while because I wanted to make sure the glasses felt like part of the logotype but also stood out enough to show that they were glasses, so it took sifting through a lot of fonts and reworking the glasses and font many times. Also, the logo was designed to be used with or without the tagline, which is "Simple. Seamless. Smart." After the logo had been approved and in use for a while, it was determined that since Roosevelt was branching off into a separate company, they would for the most part, farm out the design work. During that time, the colors were changed and an abbreviated version was developed to use as a stand alone or in conjunction with the full logo that I developed.
Scope: Design a logo for Delta Dental's employee educational engagement program called T3—Think. Teach. Thrive.
Audience: Internal employees
Timeframe: 1-2 days
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: I created the T3 logo in several different colors. It can easily drop the black background and change the white text to black and the blue text can change to a different color as well as which word is highlighted below the logo to show which category, (Think, Teach or Thrive), a particular internal program fits into. It can also be used without the tagline.
Scope: To recreate the existing Brighter Futures (BF) logo and change it to Building Brighter Futures, while making it a standalone logo for internal use but also something that could be used externally with the Delta Dental logo. (Building Brighter Futures was Delta Dental's corporate citizenship and philanthropy program and pillars. The difference between this and the DDF is that through BBF, the company could give money to any type of nonprofits efforts, unlike DDF which can only give to oral health-related efforts).
Audience: Internal and external
Timeline: 2 weeks
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: This logo was tough because the vision for BBF was changing from BF and developing as I was creating the logo. We knew that it has to involve the different categories, healthy, smart and vibrant but beyond that I was creating the look and feel for the sub-brand as I was designing the logo. I decided to use the three squares/blocks that formed into an upward facing arrow to signify "building" and a "positive future" or an upward momentum. I repeated the use of the squares between the words in the tagline as well. Each square in the arrow represents each word in the tagline. The arrow could appear as a standalone part of the artwork for internal items, once we kicked off the new internal campaign with the updated branding. After using the BBF logo for about 5 years, the company outgrew it and has since retired the logo and opted to change up how the company speaks about its corporate citizenship efforts more directly, and to also create other internal programs instead, such as T3.
Scope: To develop a logo for Delta Dental to use on external items for a performance bonus pilot program in Macomb County, Michigan in an effort to encourage dentists to conduct dental exams on children ages 2 and under who have Health Kids Dental (HKD). (HKD is administered in part by Delta Dental and is the Medicaid dental program for Michigan kids under the age of 21). The Smile Crusader program was developed because it's important for children to receive a dental exam even at a very young age but it isn't always easy or worthwhile for dentists to perform the exam. So dentists who decide to participate in the pilot program are viewed as heroes or in this case, a Smile Crusader and we would provide materials like a window decal for them to proudly display to show that they participate and support the program.
Audience: External—dentists
Timeline: 5-7 days
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: The logo was developed to be used in conjunction with the Delta Dental logo on digital and printed marketing pieces but also as a standalone when used as a window decal, which is why the logo features Delta Dental's brand font and so many of the brand's colors.
Scope: To create a logo for The Civility Project which was a program developed by Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson and funded by Delta Dental. The Civility Project is essentially a program develop by Nolan and Stephen, who are two men that lead completely different lives and have opposing views on pretty much everything. The program showcases how people with opposing views and background can have civil conversations and emerge feeling good about the conversation, respected and heard, while maybe learning something at the same time.
Audience: External
Timeline: 1 week
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: Since this was for an external program and I was asked to do this as a favor because Delta Dental helped fund their program, I wanted to make sure I developed something that would work for them in many ways and feel positive/uplighting at the same time. I used the two speech bubbles to show the opposing views/talking points and incorporated an overlapping section to signify the civil part of the conversation, which is also why it is a brighter color. The speech bubbles are also in place of the dot in the "i" the first two times. I wanted "The" and "Project" to stand out differently but have the main focus be "Civility," which is why I selected a different font. It was important to them to have a version of the logo with their names in it but it can also be used without. The speech bubbles could also be used as graphic elements in their marketing materials or on social media as a favicon. They were very pleased with the logo and colors and it is still in use today.
Scope: Work with Impression 5 Science Center (i5) to develop together a logo for the Delta Dental-funded oral health exhibit for children.
Audience: External—caregivers and children
Timeline: 2 weeks
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: In this collaborative effort, the logo concept came from a giant mouth that was part of the exhibit. In the early stages the logo was developed by the graphic designer at i5 and then handed off to me. I continued to rework and refine the logo, while eliminating a lot of extra nooks and imperfections that were leftover. In the end, I got it down to fewer colors and a more simplified but still fun look. It is also setup to be used with or without the tagline text.
Scope: To redesign the logo for the Capital City Savages, which is a national semi-pro tackle football team located in Lansing, Michigan. The original logo wasn't designed in a way for easy use on marketing materials or apparel because it was somewhat illegible. I played for the team for a number of years, so when the team went through a rebrand, I was asked to redesign the logo.
Audience: External—local and nationally
Timeline: 2 weeks
Software: Adobe Illustrator
Outcome: I feel as if the name "Savages" has a negative connotation and I wanted to be clear that the team wasn't going in that direction at all. The original logo had a weird green monster hand on it and that was something the team wanted to get away from. I presented several logos, including a version with three claw marks, which is something that we did carry over from before, another version which was a combo of the the capital city skyline and claw marks, a version with Cerberus the 3-headed dog, another version with a gorgon/Medusa wearing football shoulder pads and this version, which is the one that won the vote. After the logo was selected, I was able to create other versions of it where it was more simplified and got it down to a one-color version and a black/white version. It is still in use today and appears on all their marketing materials and apparel.
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