GJBGraphics.com

The Project: A couple of years ago I was approached by a client who was interested in establishing an identity for his computer service. The business was based at the beach and it’s owner also had Charter Boat for deep sea fishing. So it was only natural that the specs for the job called for an illustrative logo containing a Marlin (hence the name of the company).

The Plan: Far too often in our industry, work is provided to a client only to find that the art is not compatible for production. Wether it is because the printing vendor isn’t set up for that kind of artwork, or the client was unaware of the potential expenses that could occur during the process of production. Although it’s not anyone’s fualt that this occurs, it is preventable with a just little bit of educated planning. For this reason I try to find how my clients intend to use the graphics I am expected to provide and how they hope to produce it. Based on this information, we are able to come up with a compatibility plan that coincides with their budget.
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This was one of those kind of projects that just plain worked. I was contacted by a marketing firm that had a client who was starting a new business. The project was simple enough, juuuust a business card. By contacting GJB Graphics, I was pretty certain they were looking to gather a more visual impression rather than a simple text layout.

My challenge now was that the client had no logo, no established identity, and no material to point me into a stylistic direction. All I had was the business name, Pampered Paws House Calls, the content, and that the client specified a preference to the color blue.

It’s often difficult to work aesthetically with a business name so lengthy as “ Pampered Paws House Calls”, and since it was only a biz card layout, I really wouldn’t have to worry about establishing a visual identity. However, the more I looked at the name and services, I couldn’t help but see the “w” as a paw print. Since investment of establishing a businesses identity is often more involved than a simple card, I imediatly notified the firm that I had a branding concept that I was certain would be marketable. Since I have a pre-existing relationship with the firm, they trusted that I was on to something and re-negotiated our terms.
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