Jim Beam Live Music Series 2011

The Jim Beam Live Music Series features ten of today's best and brightest artists—Richard Ashcroft, The Hold Steady, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Kid Rock, Cold War Kids, Manchester Orchestra, The Fray, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Bob Schneider, O.A.R. The assignment was to create a logo design that would be used on a sticker and poster to be handed out at the show. The design direction was to make an iconic logo that might look as if it was a sticker had spent years on a well-traveled guitar case. The Jim Beam identity (the seal, the colors and logo) had to be prominent. By boiling down the design idea to the head of a guitar, the logo was instantly understood to evoke live music. 

The poster posed a significant design challenge because it had to incorporate the look of the logo while displaying the performers and the date and place of their performance. Transforming the handwritten fonts within the shape of the guitar body accomplished both feats. 

Niki Tyree of George P. Johnson, the marketing agency behind this assignment, had this to say after wrapping this project:

Rob is a talented and creative designer who takes a rough concept and brings it to life for my clients. Jim Beam was very happy with the final design for their Live Music Series logo, poster and sticker and, as a result, I hope to do many more projects with Rob.

Tennessee Chapter of Child Advocacy Centers

Because the Tennessee Chapter of Children Advocacy Centers goal is to continue to improve the way Tennessee responds to the problem of child abuse and the needs of victims, they provide innovative training opportunities, programs and services for professionals from a wide range of disciplines and the community. One of those opportunities is the Annual Connecting for Children’s Justice Conference that attracts 750 professionals from different disciplines to a three day training focused on best practices and new research. Bonnie Beneke, the executive director of the Tennessee Chapter of Children Advocacy Centers, was in need of a logo that communicated the importance and excellence of the conference. She sought a design that resonated with the attendees and communicated the strength of the connections made during the 3-day meeting. The logo design emphasizes the power of professionals coming together through the graphic symbol while also focusing on the message of justice through it's prominence in the text.

Bonnie's description of working together and the logo process says it all, "I appreciated Rob's immediate attention to our need for an updated logo for our annual conference. He was so easy to work with, easy to discuss ideas with and always with our best interest as his focus. Rob's creative abilities quickly captured our needs and desires. His approach is up to date on the cutting edge of design and technology. I am very proud of our logo and think it is awesome. I look forward to working again with him in the future."

Client: Oasis Center

Oasis Center helps young people overcome challenges through a variety of programs. One of their recent initiatives is the Building Bridges programs formerly administered by CommunityNashville. Jenn Garcia, Oasis Center's Youth Engagement Coordinator, was reffered to me by Stephen Moseley of four28. After meeting with Jenn and learning about the interesting and important work performed by Building Bridges, I set about designing several logo designs. The chosen logo compellingly depicts the mission of Building Bridges as described by an Oasis Center staffer, "Weaving folks together; visually represents what Anytown and the other Building Bridges programs are all about -- creating a tapestry that combines many threads (race, religion, sexuality, culture, perspective...)."

The letterhead successfully incorporates the logo design by mirroring the font and incorporating the "weave" into the background of the page.

After the project, Jenn Garcia enthusiastically summed up the experience of working with Rob Williams Design: "Being new to the marketing area, I had no idea what to do. Rob took the time to help me understand the process. Not only was he available, he was patient! He provided me with incredible pieces of work, that it was hard to choose the final logo and letterhead! I enjoyed working with Rob and look forward to the many other projects we may have! Thanks Rob for everything!!!"

Client: Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle TN

This design project for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee came via four28. The goal was to create a smart Non-Event invitation that would both communicate the point of a Non-Event (you don't have to do anything, instead donate your time or money to this worthy cause) while compelling the recipient to act. After brainstorming with members of the Second Harvest development and marketing staff, we decided to use the theme of a "top ten" list. The design challenge was making a visually interesting panel from a list of activities to do during the Non-Event. By using dynamic typography, a variety of colors and subtle background images, the list became more than the sum of its words.

Another design opportunity came in the form of creating a map of the 46 counties served by Middle Tenessee's Table. Instead of using an ordinary county map, I spent a little time and created a visually interesting map that fills each county with their county name. The client liked it so much they asked me to enlarge and they ordered a poster for their office.

Betsega Bekele, Annual Giving Manager of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle TN, said this about working with Rob Williams Design, "I had a phenomenal experience working with Rob on this project. We had a short window of time to turn it around and his expertise and creativity was exactly what we needed. I was very pleased with the outcome and would recommend Rob to anyone (and have)!" Another happy customer!

Client: News Consumer

The opportunity to design the logo for News Consumer came about through a want ad on craigslist. As many designers know it is rare to hear back from a craigslist listing, so I was fortunate not only get a response but to be asked to design a logo for interesting and important cause.  Founder Jim Grinstead describes News Consumer as:

"A non-profit, non-partisan group that teaches how to evaluate news stories in ways that help people be better informed and demonstrates why journalistic standards are vital to that process. We believe it is important to help news consumers navigate a more partisan environment and provide them the tools they need to recognize bias and determine which facts are relevant to their lives."

Here are some of the first round of ideas:

News Consumer chose the logo featuring the symbols that could be interpreted as quotes or parentheses or sounds waves among other symbols. After the project Jim Grinstead described working with Rob Williams Design:

"Rob began the design project by developing a full understanding of News Consumer's mission, what we hoped to accomplish and what others in the field had been doing. He then provided us a variety of unique approaches that not only separated us from others, but helped define our identity. The final logo works powerfully on everything from letterhead to slides to web site layouts. As we grow, we'll come back to Rob not only because of the quality of his work, but because he sees both the detail and the horizon. He understands how individual tasks fit into a larger goal and he values long-term success."