30¢: The Business of Prison Labor

It began as a concept with a simple sign next to a doorbell that said, “Do not disturb Christy for ANY reason, do not ring #2″. From there we were to take that idea and create an entire branding system and concept.

I chose to create a bath and body product line that came with a Do Not Disturb door hanger. The text on the labels says:

“It’s your body. Pamper it.

The daily burdens of life weighs heavily on your body. Dryness. Cracks. Acne. Left uncared for your skin will rebel causing months of aging to turn into years. Yet life will not slow down. It keeps hounding you from the moment you wake until your head hits the pillow in exhaustion. Demands at work and home sap the very life from your body, causing you to ask, When will it stop? Today. Stop the clock. Give your skin the love it deserves. With Do Not Disturb body products you can finally restore your body, recharge your spirit and revitalize your life. Our promise to you is this: We can help you become you again.

So lock the door, get on something comfortable and surrender to you.

P.S. We thought about putting my iPad in the middle with my big face, but decided otherwise. Probably better that way.

Given all that and the information gained during our chat over hor dourves and margaritas, this is the logo design that was created and accepted:

Circles were chosen for their sense of completeness and trust. The three interlocking circles represent the three main facets of their company found in the title: Managed, Custom and Solutions—all working together to give their clients what they need.

The main color blue was chosen for its softness as well as a homage to their intended market, namely blue collar workers. The secondary colors were chosen to compliment the blue and allow for more flexibility in future branding design (namely their website and any promotional material).

The typeface is Avenir and was selected for its modern, elegant feel with rounded, geometric shapes. It was set in all lowercase to flow with the circles and keep the softer sense; uppercase was too stark and angular.

When creating the logotype (name of the company) I chose to make “Managed” more prominent. I felt, after thinking more about what they shared about their company and what their clients are looking for, that managed was the biggest player. They mentioned that their non-tech clients are looking for a company to manage the software for them. I kept “Custom Solutions” together as one phrase as that is what they help manage and provide.

Versatile Complex Grid:

Module Grid:

Column Grid #1:

Column Grid #2:

Source: The Office of Frank Chimero

What if that mission was love? How would we view our world? Ourselves? How would we treat others if viewed through our love-generating plexiglass window? How would we view and treat strangers? Harder yet, our “enemies”?

Here is a poster I designed around that very concept (with two other variations):

The text seems to be homage to the Guy Fawks Night Poem: “Remember, Remember, the 5th of November”, when Fawks tried to assassinate the King of England by blowing up the parliament. One thing I also like about this statement is the date is never mentioned in the verbiage. Just “That Day in September”, with  the numbers 9 and 11 in the circle above.