Renate Wood Design

Looking back at 2019: Logo Design

Posted by [email protected] on Feb 10, 2020 in Featured RWD Projects | 0 comments

I always like to take a look back at the year that has past once a new year has started. I gives me a gauge on what I’ve accomplished, learned, and even overcome. I’ve collected the logos that I designed this year, specifically for EB&L Marketing, and realized how much I’ve contributed to the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) market this year. Some logos were a rebrand with some of the original elements remaining the same, but others were a completely new design reflecting the company as it stands now.

You might think there can’t be much difference from one HVAC logo to the next, but EVERY company has it’s own story, mission, and vision. Don’t convince yourself that one of the various online design companies can generate a good enough “logo” for any heating company. The logos below truly reflect each company.

With all this HVAC work, I can tell you in very basic terms what a ductless system is, how to keep your system working efficiently (i.e. CHANGE YOUR FILTERS!), and various other random things. I hope to keep learning and look forward to designing more for this market!

Posted by [email protected] on Oct 6, 2019 in Featured RWD Projects | 0 comments

As of this summer, I have had the pleasure of working with EB&L Marketing, located in Skaneateles, NY. EB&L are masters at HVAC marketing and work with HVAC companies all over the country to direct their marketing with a wide range of tools. As a freelancer, I now have the opportunity to take my creative knowledge and advertising experience to reach their clients goals with each project. My first two projects I tackled were the rebranding of the brand identities of South Hills Electric, of Pittsburgh, PA, and Parker Services, of Tallahassee, FL. This also included a secondary logo for their service programs and subsequent advertising pieces.

Companies sometimes take the step to rebrand when they need to reposition the business in a new market, have a new philosophy or mission, or go under new ownership with a new vision. When the current brand identity or logo does not reflect these changes, then rebranding is completely necessary. South Hills Electric and Parker Services took this step because some of these reasons. My role was to communicate these changes with a partial rebuild of the brand identity and develop brand guidelines to direct the use of the new logo. The process includes the reevaluation of the color palette, typefaces, shapes and imagery associated with the existing logo design. Ultimately, my final designs reflect each company’s vision and mission going forward in 2019.

South Hills Electic Rebranding Goals:

Enhance and refresh the logo without taking a radical departure.
Give equal weight to Electric, Heating and Cooling.
Give more focus to South Hills.
The new tagline needs to communicate their wide service area, and the fact that they will cross bridges to serve their expanded customer base.

Parker Services Rebranding Goals:

Family owned business. Father is passing the torch to his son and would like to make the transition with a new look.
Redesign graphic to be less hurricane/storm-like.
They want their logo to remain recognizable but stand out more to their residential customers. Need to appeal to residential customers so they can expand this portion of their business vs. commercial. Target new residential customers that are aged 45-60, with an income over 90k, and in both Tallahassee as well as over the state line into Georgia.

Check out the designs below!

Posted by [email protected] on Jan 27, 2019 in Featured RWD Projects | 0 comments

This past year has been an extra special year and extra busy in more ways than one! I welcomed my daughter into the world in August and took a bit of time off from freelancing. However, between caring for one and now TWO children, I’ve had the opportunity to work on an RWD brand identity project and have continued designing for All Times Publishing. My current workload has allowed me to be present with my children, but also have a creative outlet that gives me an escape from “Baby Shark” and diaper changes. (If you have a toddler, then “Baby Shark” is in your life, and it’s not going away anytime soon!) This year was the second consecutive year I’ve designed the Onondaga County Parks Winter Guide for Onondaga County Parks, which was included in the 2018-2019 Wegman’s Lights on the Lake program. I’ve also contributed to the Northeast Diary and Welding & Gases Today magazines (online and print), which has expanded my advertising repertoire.

Ultimately, I’ve collected various pieces that were successful, made my clients happy, and/or “sparked joy” for myself. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Check out the online issues of the publications that I’ve contributed to:

My favorite job: Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., 90th Anniversary logo and timeline/ad design

Goal for 2019: Explore Adobe Creative Cloud’s new offerings, or just simply learn something new!

Posted by [email protected] on Apr 23, 2018 in Featured RWD Projects | 0 comments

Overview
Mike and Sheree Banks reached out to me to create a brand identity package for their new property solutions company located in Central New York, called Moxie Property Solutions LLC. Their company focuses on solving real estate problems while rebuilding communities. Whether it be an inheritance situation, behind on payments, divorce, bad tenants, downsizing, short sale, relocation, or foreclosure, their team has the ‘moxie’ to get the job done. It was very important to emphasis ‘moxie’ visually in the logo and this was definitely achieved. The logo mark, which was inspired by the frame of a house and forms an ‘m’, also helps to emphasis ‘moxie’ with it’s bright complimentary colors. Overall, this bold and unique identity package will help to set Moxie Property Solutions LLC apart from their competitors!

Posted by [email protected] on Dec 28, 2017 in Featured RWD Projects | 0 comments

I successfully made it through my first FULL year as a freelance graphic designer while being a stay-at-home mom!! My son is now nearly 18 months old and I am forever thankful that I can care for him at home. I’m so happy that my relationship with All Times Publishing has now continued for over two and a half years. Since becoming a freelance designer in March 2016, I have been able to support ATP when they need it most. Being able to turn around a job in less than 24 hours has been my specialty. But with that, my time management skills have been absolutely put to the test. That brings me back to the time ATP needed a full page ad design for the special Valentine’s Day “Ultimate Date Night” contest. It was a last minute task and I had three hours to get the ad out on proof. In normal circumstances it would take me an hour, so no problem! However, I had a screaming/whining baby in the background who had just received a flu shot. He needed ALL my attention at that very moment. I felt like I had a drill sergeant yelling over my shoulder, “GO FASTER!” Now that’s pressure! I can’t say I’ve ever worked under those conditions at my previous nine to five jobs! (HA) I knew that if I could work under those circumstances, produce the result the client was looking for and deliver it on time, I could do just about anything! I also knew that it would get easier. Everyone always says when you have a baby, “it will get easier.” They were right, because it really does! Having my child on predictable schedule helps tremendously. And yes, I’m that Mom who runs on the same schedule every single day. Naptime and bedtime = design time!

I can confidently say that I have found a balance between mom duties, freelance work, and even found time to reach a personal goal or two – like maintaining this blog! With over 400 hours of design time for ATP, I’ve collected the work that has stood out the most to me this year. Here I have a variety of work that either reproduced really well in print, stood out because I was happy with the design, and/or a made the customer very happy. Let me know YOUR thoughts!

My favorite piece of feedback. “Holy moly this is GRRRREAT. That’s the best layout that I’ve ever had! Thank you!” — Cakes & Other Goodies at Center Street Market, Canastota, NY

My favorite job. Onondaga County Parks Winter Program Guide.

A goal for 2018. Find a design challenge and conquer it.

Posted by [email protected] on Nov 8, 2017 in All Times Publishing | 0 comments

Now that I’ve moved to Northern Virginia, I’ll admit the fact that I DO occasionally miss central New York winters. If you woke up to a foot or more of snow because of a lake effect storm system, it was guaranteed to cause some excitement. It would always result in an “adult” snow day, full of movies, snuggles with my dog on the couch… HA, yeah right! Of course not! So maybe it wasn’t really THAT exciting. I did, however, love how the first snow fall could immediately make it feel like the holidays were soon approaching. I’d get that Christmas morning giddy feeling. I always thought the snow was beautiful at night. The glow of the moon would light up the snow and make it seem so much brighter outside. Walks at night, after some fresh snowfall, were my absolute fav.

The hiking trail at Highland Forest.

When I lived in Syracuse, my goal was to go snowshoeing at least once every winter. I never realized how hard achieving that goal would be. The conditions really have to be perfect to truly go snowshoeing. In my opinion, there needs to at least be a FRESH foot of snow on the ground. When it’s packed down from melting and refreezing, you might as well wear snow boots and take a hike. It happened once for me. It was a weekend in December 2014 when Highland Forest, an Onondaga County Park in Fabius, NY, got a ridiculous amount of snow. The trees were coated from the canopy to the roots with fluffy white snow. The trails had to be followed by the trail markers versus the foot prints of other hikers. We almost got lost at one point! It was the epitome of a winter wonderland. And wow, it was a workout, for sure! I dream of random snow squall covering Burke, Virginia with snow, just to make it look like it did that day. I know it probably won’t happen to that extent, and if it did it wouldn’t be the same. Central New York can definitely be a magical place in the winter.

Our snowshoe path on the hiking trail.

The view from Skyline Lodge at Highland Forest.

That all brings me to the Onondaga County Parks Winter Program Guide that I had the pleasure in designing for All Times Publishing. It was designed to be included in the Syracuse New Times’ official program for Wegman’s Lights of the Lake at Onondaga Lake Park in Syracuse, NY. 108,000 total programs are to be distributed via the Syracuse New Times, Family Times, the Lights of the Lake event and various local businesses. My goal was to create a cohesive design that reflected the fun and festive nature of the winter season. The cutouts of the photos along with the repeated shape (in the first spread) create a dynamic flow while emphasizing the highlighted parks and activities. By basing my design off the grid, I was able to organize a variety of information provided in the guide, simply and clearly. Overall, it reflects their brand and communicates their focus on promoting winter activities in the parks that make Onondaga County special.

So now, go check out the calendar and make your plans! If it were possible, I’d be hitting up the Lights of the Lake dog walk, just like I had every year when I lived in Syracuse. Have fun!

Click here to view the full Wegman’s Lights on the Lake program.

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Looking back at 2019: Logo Design

Rebranding: HVAC

A Year in Review: 2018

Moxie Property Solutions LLC

A Year in Review: 2017

Onondaga County Parks: Winter Program Guide

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