The Paige Johnston Thomas Giving Tree

This project was a serious joy to work on. When a friend of mine and amazing advocate for the arts passed away, a group of her friends got together to form a foundation in her honor. We worked quickly to establish a logo, brand personality, and style guide. Then came their website.

Being able to see a group of talented, creative people come together to form something so long-lasting in the memory of someone so special was really inspiring. I’m so grateful to be a part of this!

Primary Logo

The main logo for this new organization is inspired by several things that were special or important to the organization’s namesake.

You’ll see that the i’s and the serif on the lowercase G in “Giving” are actually accented with the leaf shapes from the icon above the typeface. This adds to the creative spirit of the brand, and allows us to have something elevate the font even more.

Local Logo

Since the scale and positioning of the main logo was rather square, it was important to provide something that can be shared at the “local” level that is easier to place. I wanted to make sure that the color palette could still be established. The leaf shapes created for the primary logo’s typeface are in the bright accent color called “carnation.” This allows us to stay brand aligned without losing the creative spirit of the brand.

I always like to use the phrasing “Consider the primary logo when you are shaking hands with someone for the first time, and the local logo when you’re on a first name basis.”

Favicon

It was important that this brand be able to scale. When we condense the logo or pull an element out of it, it should be able to be recognized. In this case, the bird with the red tail feather is that element. It’s a simple design that has some a few special details in it that really stand out on its own.