New Branding Project: Revolution Doughnuts

Since the economic down-turn, we have seen a lot of entrepreneurs put everything on the line to start up new ventures and turn their dreams into a reality. We enjoy being entrusted with these dreams and doing our part to help other small businesses spur the economic recovery. Since January, we have created new branding for an organic farmer, a gelato shop, a beer brewer, a hair salon, and other cool stuff that we can’t talk about yet!

A few months ago, we had a request to create the branding for a new doughnut shop in the Atlanta area. Owner Maria Moore Riggs hired us to help her develop a classic, home-grown brand identity for her shop which was slated to open late in the spring of 2012. She sent us some style research to show us the basic vibe she was looking for (some of her style samples were actually things we designed!)

Maria wanted to re-brand her baking biz (formerly called The Little Hen Bakeshop – a Decatur Farmer’s Market vendor) – to be a real brick & mortar store serving coffee and all-natural specialty doughnuts. The new shop will be called Revolution Doughnuts, and it will be located next to Ale Yeah! and Avellino’s Pizza at 908 West College Ave in Decatur, GA.

Once we reviewed her style research, we baked up some rough logo concepts for her to sample.

Maria found one rough logo concept to be particularly tasty. So we took that concept and rounded it out as a more finished-looking brand mark.

We finalized the logo and the color palette. Then we applied the new look to a few items to show how the branding could work on merchandise, etc.

Maria describes the cafe/production kitchen this way: “We are starting a doughnut revolution in the south – returning to a time when doughnuts were simple and tasty – made from scratch with real food ingredients – without all the pre-fab mixes, funky oils, preservatives, fillers, or stabilizers that the big doughnut chains use. In addition to our regular menu we will also have vegan and gluten free treats.”

We hope to taste her doughnuts soon and celebrate the realization of her dream when the shop opens. (Click here to see her Kickstart video.)

Show Your True Colors This Season!

With election season heating up, we thought it would be fun to poke a little fun at the whole spectacle. By the time November finally gets here, we are all going to be sick of political news coverage and commercials! So to take the edge off of things and celebrate our great democratic system, we set out to create 2 sets of political prints that will allow folks to show their true colors in style.

The first set of prints was based on an old horror movie poster look. We spoke with the actress that posed in this old photo from the movie “It Came From Outer Space.” (Her name is Kathleen Hughes, and she is a big fan of our work!) Kathleen gave us her blessing to use her face on these posters... although she wouldn’t tell us which one was her favorite!

After spoofing the Attack of the Candidates that seek to steal our votes, we decided to create a pair of mascot posters. Making a bold statement by using only red and blue on an aged paper background, we created simple graphics of a butt-kicking donkey and a head-stomping elephant to serve as iconic mascots for each party. We finished off each poster by touting some of the core party values, and playing up the party colors—red for Republicans and blue for Democrats.

All of these posters are available in our Anderson Design Group Studio Store site under the Vintage Ad Follies Collection. Show your true colors by decorating your home or office with these prints, or buy them as gifts for your favorite hard-core political junkies!