The arbor vs. the leaf
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
I worked for archer>malmo for about a year after I graduated college. While I was there, I was exposed to some great people and great design opportunities. One of those opportunities was to help design the new marketing logo for the oldest girl’s school in Memphis, Hutchison.
To me, the most interesting aspect of this project was the rich history behind Hutchison School. One tidbit from that story is that Miss Hutchison’s school on Union Avenue had a beautiful arbor, under which, on pretty days, the girls would sit to do their lessons. I was asked to develop an option for presentation, and the image above to the left is what I produced. The lines of the “H”, for “Hutchison”, becoming the arbor, and the hanging vine becoming an “S”, for “school.”
They ended up going with the image above to the right, designed by Richard Williams, Sr. Art Director at the time. I was bummed out then, but in retrospect, I understand why they picked the option they did. I do, however, still believe in the power of the vine logo to tell and preserve a wonderful story about a Memphis educational institution—even though the design may never see the back window of an SUV.
And one final note. Whatever I lost on the Hutchison project, I was able to redeem on this one.
