Music City Eats festival

If you're one of the lucky ones who will be in Nashville this weekend for the Music City Eats festival, well, you're in for a treat! Featuring local restaurant showcases, cooking demonstrations, wine, beer & spirits tastings, intimate panel discussions and, of course, live music, Music City Eats will present the best of high and low cuisine, dishing up authentic Southern flavor in a fresh, inspiring way. 

C3 Presents, in partnership with the Kings of Leon folks approached us with the task of helping them brand Nashville's first food, wine, and spirits festival! C3 Presents are the event organizers behind some of the biggest festivals (among them is Austin City Limits…which we've had the pleasure of working on before), and now included in their long list of credentials will be MCE. 

We started out with sketching a logo design for the event. After a clear winner was chosen, we moved on to poster sketches and finally, a style guide that could be used to create everything from the website, to banner ads, to napkins. To see more of our designs in use, or to snag a ticket for the event, check out their website. Happy eating Nashville!

High Brow Brew

It's safe to say Nashville has enjoyed a growth spurt of awesomeness these days. Local businesses are booming and we still pinch ourselves at the privilege of helping so many of these talented local artisans launch their brand. More and more creatives are moving in and using their talents to add a unique flair to the city's diverse culture. Among these skilled folks are Steve Pearson and Dorene Williams; West coast transplants who have brought with them years of working in creative environments. Stylish, sophisticated, and not afraid to speak openly about what they like and don't like, this hip duo immediately won us over after they approached us with a unique opportunity to brand a new coffee shop in Franklin. 

The coffee lovers that we are, we got jittery (with excitement!) for the chance to be able to work on a coffee shop, but what Steve and Dorene had in mind was even more special. They wanted to open a coffee shop that celebrated the flavors and lifestyle of the South in a way that elevated it to a more refined, sophisticated level. They even used the term "fancy chickens"; we were smitten! While the name "High Brow Brew" is meant to be taken "tongue in cheek," it has also become their business philosophy of setting high standards for providing quality goods. The name takes on additional meaning in that it hints at the brow view of the Tennessee countryside from their family's farm in Leiper's Fork.  

After a few rounds of sketch comps, we settled on a logo that felt a little bit glam, a little bit country, and full of Southern charm. The sunrise over the hill represents the view from the family farm, while the stylized swashes in the letter forms allude to the swirls of steam from a hot cup o' joe. The logo was finished off with a fanciful design of chickens and pipes. They were added as a fun yet subtle brand theme (because what's more whimsical than smoking chickens, right!?) In addition, we used some of the same elements to create a monogram logo mark, and parts and pieces that could be used on everything from napkins, to cups, to cigars. Warm, welcoming, and friendly, Steve and Dorene used their talents to extend the same vibe to their space with rustic barn wood, mason-jar lights, and a grand chandelier that flanks the entrance. Yes sir, Nashville is pretty awesome, and thanks to people like Steve and Dorene, we reckon it will stay that way.

To enjoy some delectable southern treats, visit their site for location and hours. 

Designer: Ligia Teodosiu

Photography: Promedia Tours

Green Fleet Bicycle Tours

Watching people outside enjoying the weather through our blinds while we stayed in making cool artwork got us itching to get some exercise. That itch was scratched when we got a call from Green Fleet Bicycle Tours. Founded by Austin Bauman, who started Nashville's only bicycle courier company, the business now includes a bicycle shop and guided tour service.

The bike tours start at the bicycle bus, which is parked under the pedestrian bridge between 1st and 2nd Ave S. The bus, which houses the bikes for the tour, was painted by local artist Andee Rudloff and a team of young artists.

The first thing to do was get the Green Fleet experience. Joel and Aaron took a bike tour over the pedestrian bridge, and got a feel for the business. Austin, who rides for fundraisers and visits children's hospitals, favored the whimsical folk art style from the bus. We incorporated that same feel into our poster which has the whimsical and adventurous youthful spirit that invites people of all ages to take a bike and explore downtown Nashville.

Next came the postcard and sticker/patch design, which speak perfectly with their bicycle courier roots.

Lastly came the logo. Working in reverse of our normal process the logo drew elements from the poster and patch but focused on the bike shop, which deals in tune ups and selling bikes. Now they have everything to tie the bike shop and the tours together for the complete Green Fleet experience.

Check out their website for information on how to book your bike tour!

The Cool: Self-Portrait Drawings by Gaikuo

Bird Dog Whisky

Hunting season opened early this year, when Western Spirits tracked us down to do a poster for their Bird Dog Whisky. With their sights set on our Bells Bend Park poster by illustrator Ligia Teodosiu they wanted to do a version featuring their whisky bottle and a hunting dog.

They threw us a bone with one of their cork-topped whisky bottles and the first thing we did was open it up to test out the flavor. This was very important research. 

Following that illustrator Aaron Johnson let the dogs out to find the right pose to capture the spirit of the hunting dog. 

After choosing their pick of the litter we rendered all the new elements and retooled the background a bit to fit the new composition. 

After all was said and done the finished product was quite the catch. After that we promised to never make dog puns again if we could come out of the doghouse and sleep on the rug.

Check out the Bird Dog site to learn more about their whisky and see all the flavors!

Vince Gill and Paul Franklin: Bakersfield

Sometimes opportunity comes knocking. Sometimes it comes charging at you in a bull horned convertible. When asked to do a Vince Gill Album cover out of the blue, how could we refuse? The only catch: we had to get it done in about a week.

The album itself is a collection of cover songs by Vince Gill and Paul Franklin paying tribute to the Bakersfield genre of country music. We already had a rough concept in mind involving a car driving under the iconic Bakersfield Sign in California.

Less than a week from the deadline, a trip out to California was out. Instead we scurried on down to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which was hosting a Bakersfield exhibit. Also there were some interesting cars owned by country stars from the era. This particular car, formerly owned by Webb Pierce, was one that Vince Gill took a liking to.

Taking cues and reference from the exhibit illustrator Aaron Johnson laid out a dynamic composition, which the client was pleased with. Aaron used his car rendering wizardry to pimp their ride into a custom Pontiac inspired by Webb Pierce's car.

Taking it to the next level, Aaron rendered it in grayscale first for approval. As the ancient wise men of the mountains say, don't start painting the walls before you have the roof up. This way we can make any tweaks and changes before we get to color, which can really make things look different.

Once the rendering was approved we showed them some vintage color options inspired by the art and clothes of the genre. With the rendering done in two days, that left us one day to make color decisions and minor changes. You could say this album cover was done in...record time!

Bakersfield is avaliable to pre-order and will be released on July 30th. You can check out track listing and more info on the new album at Vince's website (www.vincegill.com).

Sugar & Snow Gelato Logo Design

On the heels of our work for Legato Gelato, we were presented with another sweet opportunity for branding a gelaterie in neighboring Asheville, North Carolina. The history of gelato dates back to ancient Rome where snow and ice brought down from mountain tops was mixed with sugar and wine. Sugar & Snow Gelato pays hommage to the origins of gelato and follows the same ideals of simple, all natural ingredients to create delicious small batch, natural frozen treats! Made fresh daily, Sugar & Snow Gelato features North Carolina Farms' milk and cream, and the highest quality chocolate, pistachios and other local seasonal ingredients.

The goal was to create something that felt whimsical and indulgent. As usual, we began with several sketches before we settled on a clear favorite. From there, we continued to refine the letterforms until we ended up with a final logo. The last step was to apply color and add additional graphic elements (backgrounds, borders, banners) to build out the look of the brand. 

Creative Director: Joel Anderson

Designer: Ligia Teodosiu

Photography: Lynne Harty