If you follow me on instagram or facebook you know that I am a donut fanatic. You might also know that I am pretty picky about my donuts too. There are only a few places that I am loyal to. Thankfully, we live near one of my favorite donut shops, Donut Day. Yes, I said thankfully, when I really mean my added fluff is composed of mostly yummy donuts.
I am a regular donut customer and have been going to Donut Day for years. A few years ago, I offered to trade donuts in exchange for redoing Donut Day’s Menu. Let’s just say that the menu was in desperate need of a makeover and it didn’t look nearly as good as their donuts taste. I thought it was time to spruce things up so that their signage could match their amazing donuts.
Fast forward 4 years or so and we are finally giving Donut Day the logo they’ve been desperately needing. Donut Day is run by a lovely husband and wife team. They make some of the best donuts that I have ever eaten. However, they don’t see eye to eye on decorating or shop ascetics. I’ve been able to be a buffer and assist in helping them develop a brand. They are in the process of opening up a second retail store and need a way for people to know they are the same company. I can’t think of a better way to build brand identity that with a color, a color palette, consistent signage, etc.
Here are some of my original logo concepts. . .
When I went in to check out the new shop, I didn’t know that it had already been painted. I’m not going to lie, a little piece of me died inside and I secretly wanted to cry. In one of our meetings we had discussed using bright colors. In my head, I was thinking of light, airy, soft colors like pinks, teals, and yellows. To my surprise, the shop had already been painted burnt orange, chocolate brown, and has dark brown hard wood floors. Everything was really dark and fall like. Since the walls had already been painted twice, we decided to stick with the existing color palette. Obviously, I gave my two-cents, but at the end of the day, color is something that is easily changed.
Here are the original color mock-ups. . .
How do they make you feel? Do you feel really happy? A little drab, huh? We were not feeling these colors either. Like I mentioned before, color is really easy to change out. I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal to see these logos in my original color palette (the one that was in my head, anyways). I went ahead and recolored these in a softer palette. The change is like night and day.
In my opinion, it should be fun to get donuts. It should be a happy and up-lifting event, not drab and boring. I mean these little gems taste amazing and they should be celebrated. Here is my final branding for Donut Day. I am really happy with how it turned out and so are they! I can’t wait to finish all of their menus, donut box design, and business cards. I will try and be better at sharing my completed work. That is my goal, but then again it always is. . .
I would love to know what you think about these logos and if you have a passion for donuts I want to hear about it!
xo
