The Aspen Grille is a dining venue in the student center of a college campus. Following a major renovation, the management of Aspen Grille agreed it was time for an update to the logo. Three concepts were presented, including the tree version pictured below.
The previous logo had been in use for years and featured an outdated open face display font with a simple leaf outline on a pastel checkerboard. The new logo needed to reflect a fresh space where heavy wooden paneling had been replaced with bright airy white walls and white marble surfaces.
The composite below shows a clean, contemporary approach that pairs the intricate logo with oversized placement of the graphic leaves.
My early sketches for this concept involved making five fork tines into tree trunks. However, after working with the art, it was clear the white bark of the trees would better mimic the negative spaces between the tines.
Once I made that shift, I worked to find the right balance of leaves and the right shape of fork. I also spent time choosing just the right font to work with the space.
The resulting artwork was whimsical and the blending of a fork with a grove of trees was intriguing.
A second option was more simple and classic. The san serif type was arched in Adobe Illustrator for a timeless yet trendy application.
A third option provided location context by using landmarks from the area and a repeated tree shape.
In the end, the simple logo concept was chosen, but with a more colorful green and yellow artistic fill. Here is the final approved artwork.
