Simon is a specialist in automotive photography. He works with racing teams, automotive businesses and high-octane events. When he was ready for a fresh look, he came to me with a set of keywords to get started:
Tribe. Curious. Community. Storytelling. Character. Emotion.
A petrol-fuelled mind will clock this straight away… but for everyone else, the logo mark is inspired by sprint tracks like Goodwood’s seen at the Festival of Speed, merged with Simon’s SRW initials. It speaks to his clients’ world and to the journey of telling their story.
Building the mark
The icon went through a lot of iterations. It took a while to make it work, as I was originally thinking landscape. And unlike some concepts, I could include the S alongside the RW.
I had several sharp versions which gave off JDM vibes… but that’s not Simon. Skylines and Supras sit in just one chapter of his automotive story and the stories he captures often include tracks or … well, roads. So I landed on this smoother option which was inspired by recent visits to Goodwood with the sprint track that runs past the house and also the rally track in the forest.
The full system
Every brand identity I deliver includes landscape, portrait and roundel versions as standard. You never know what application is going to come up and you want to be ready for all of them.
Portrait Logo
Portrait, stacked. Whatever you want to call it. It’s not always the primary but I always include a version in case a placement calls for it.
Roundel Logo
I love including a roundel if the brand allows for it. It’s the playful one, and it usually works brilliantly on merchandise.
Colour Scheme
Simon had a clear vision here, inspired by premium paint colours, and that made my job easier. These aren’t off-the-shelf brand colours.
Having seen Liv’s work for a large corporation over the last couple of years, which was always consistently within branding, and often adding her creative flair, when it was time to refresh my brand, it was an easy decision to work with her.
Liv has a great process, she’s great at questioning and pulling out feel, requirements, colours and ideas. From the outset, I always felt she was listening and then further exploring ideas.
Based on this, I left Liv to go and create, as she does best. On receiving the first designs, all of them would have worked well, and worked perfectly against the brief. However one stood out for me which we refined over a couple of meetings and the end result is superb. Much more than a logo, it has feeling, depth and thought, which highlights what I do.
Liv also works well to a deadline, giving updates as the project progresses and has further supported me on how to use my branding effectively.
Simon Raeburn-Ward, Automotive Photographer
taking it further
Here’s how SRW’s identity works in the real world… A tee for events, professional enough to wear, distinctive enough that people ask about it.
Stickers. Everyone loves stickers, trust me. Whether they’re handed out at events or stuck around the place for the hell of it. I provided Simon with a few options including these using the roundel.
Business cards. Still got to have them. We opted for Spot UV of the logomark on the front with no print beneath it. When you put a high gloss varnish such as Spot UV, over a matt laminated card the two blacks create a lovely effect.
And a suggestion for the website, where the logomark works perfectly front and centre.
The ideas that didn’t make it
Looking for your own branding? Email me.
Find out more about my branding design process in the Clique Mojo project.
A few other logo marks from across the years…
