Thrive America: The Graphic Journey

February 10, 2009 at 8:37 pm | Posted in process, projects, Uncategorized | 5 Comments
Tags: advertisement, art, blank stage productions, connecting with others, design, doodles, drawings, ideas, inspiration, relationships, step by step

I’m thrilled to announce that one of my clients has released installments of his interview series, Thrive America. Brent was such a pleasure to work for and I learned so much from him just in the past two months. I wanted to exhibit the development of the Thrive America logo from the very first sketches to its debut on the Thrive America homepage.

I drew these during the shooting of the Chris Heuser interview. Before then, I admit I had a difficult time coming up with ideas. To be immersed in the Thrive America process injected me with a geyser of ideas! I loved it.

Brent and his team reached a consensus and shrunk the sketches down to three contestants, mixing and matching their favorite elements.

One thing I learned while making this logo is that fonts are damn hard to match up! I made the mistake of committing to the font I had used in my sketches so I ended up frustrating myself in the end. I decided that this font was the closest I could find and that I would have to just revise my design around it.

Still, There are something lacking in this copy. it mirrored the sketch decently but the elements seemed too detached …

It was during this project that I also learned the value of a mentor. I met Michael Harper (Head Writer of Blank Stage but he has such an extensive resume that I don’t think any one title can contain him) and though our relationship has been short, he has given me incredible advice on freelancing. He suggested the fade in graph and I must say, it vastly improved the design.

Big jump. The faded intersection of the rays and the graph created a novel resemblance of the US flag. Michael and I both felt that “America” was too light in the former revisions so here, I tried to add more weight. But…

… we ultimately decided on this one. It’s simple and classic enough to capture “America” and a good contrast to the “Thrive” font.

You can see the logo here on the Thrive America homepage. I strongly suggest both budding and seasoned entrepreneurs to check out these interviews and pick up a few tips on growing your business!