Surya Daya Yoga & Wellness is an established studio in Almonte, Ontario, taken over by its lovely new owner in 2018, who wished to make it her own with a rebrand. I was delighted to hear that she was quite set on having a ring of elephants for her new logo, surrounding a sun mandala.

Long established as one of the top designers in the field of Irish dance, this dress maker recently came to us to help revitalize a brand that had been critically overtaken by some of the big names in the industry. We created a powerful new visual identity of a phoenix rising from the flames, its shape a subtle reflection of a dancer standing in the ready position. Along with an effective new website, an exciting contest, and a series of stunning advertisements Phoenix Designs immediately captured the attention of the Irish Dancing world.

Grove Wellness is a holistic nutrition consultancy in Almonte, Ontario, incorporating various types of energy work to bring a unique approach to wellness. The owner loves lavender flowers for their beauty and the sense of peace they evoke. The design shows a lavender flower artfully blended into the letters of the business name. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.grovewellnessgroup.com

Septic pumping and portable toilets have never looked so good! This client brought us his website for development and we managed to convince him to find a budget for an upgrade to his very dated logo. The mackerel in the name found its way into the logo by becoming part of the letters g & f in the word Kingfish and the client was delighted. Note the crown on the head as well as the scepter it holds in its hand.

This little logo came about due to a nice serendipity. It was designed as an option for another client a couple of years ago, and, while they chose another design, it has always remained a favourite of mine. I posted it recently to a local women’s business group, explaining that it was “up for adoption”, and a local consulting firm, who happened to have a rabbit-themed business name, jumped on it.

The Town of Mississippi Mills requested a logo design based on their existing identity but which would reflect Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations. The client asked that there be a maple leaf reference of some kind, and that the temporary brand be fun and dynamic and promote diversity. The new logo contains the original Town logo’s M, which doubles as a bridge and waterfall, with a new containing graphic of a maple leaf that brings to mind a fireworks display, as well as suggesting diversity in its use of form and colour.

The Pakenham Public School in Mississippi Mills is proud to be at the top of the Fraser Institute for all schools in the Upper Canada Board area. It offers an intimate setting where they have few issues due to the close knit nature of the community, the staff, and the children themselves. This design is based on the unique heritage 5-span bridge for which the town of Pakenham is famous, depicting the charismatic arches wth the rushing river beneath. The new logo improves on the original design, making the brand more contemporary with better visual harmony, and including a version to celebrate their 50th year!

An enthusiastic entrepreneur with a small budget and a big heart needed a logo to showcase her small business of upcycling furniture and décor: Creative Works. A butterfly was selected to represent metamorphosis and developed into a design that is organic and friendly, much like her product.

LCB Consulting provides information technology consulting services to public and private sector organizations predominantly located in the Ottawa area. A ribbon style was created for the acronym, suggesting smooth workflow and seamless integration. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.lcbconsultinggroup.com

The Rideau Lakes Public Library needed to refresh their out of date logo and website. I worked closely with the lead librarian to produce the spirited and animated logo seen here. The client requested imagery of a loon taking off, with the open wings recalling the pages of a book and its necklace mimicking a wifi symbol. Everyone is delighted with the new visual identity.

Concept created in 2014 for the Handmade Harvest Craft Show, this logo was selected by a panel of judges in 2017 from over 40,000 entries to be featured in LogoLounge Volume 10, an annual “best of the best” book of logo design. The logo features a bear clutching a harvested bundle of items in its arms that upon second glance resembles a human hand. I always loved this design although the client chose another favourite. The craft show has since undergone a name change, and a new identity subsequently developed, however I still think the designs I created at the time stand out as some of my best work.

This Ottawa custom log home building company needed an updated logo and website in order to compete and excel in today’s marketplace. They do this by emphasizing sustainability in a big way while building homes that are as energy efficient as possible. The logo is designed to represent both the traditional nature of the build as well as their creative and modern process. The new logo shows a seamless integration into the environment, a sense of living lightly, with a small carbon footprint. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.kealeytackaberryloghomes.com

The Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour needed a brand facelift in 2016 to simplify the design, and to blend the two elements, the crown and the pumpkin, in a more cohesive way than was the case in years past. The new visual identity is clean and uncluttered while retaining a better connection with the old graphics traditionally associated with the tour. The crown is still a crown and now appears to also be the vine on the top of the pumpkin.

The Merrickville Library offers a wide range of materials to their small community on the Rideau River. This design is based on the charming heritage building which houses the library, depicting its appealing steep tin roof while the charismatic angles form the shape of an open book. Library members will recognize their library building hidden in the logo. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.merrickvillelibrary.ca.

Every year I choose a worthy cause to donate my graphic design services (or the worthy cause chooses me), and a couple of years ago, Jeff Mills at Mills Community Support and I began what has become a wonderful collaboration on multiple projects. It all started off with this logo for the Neighbourhood Tomato. Jeff helped out by supplying some great picture references of vintage fruit and vegetable packing crates as inspiration, and one of my favourite logo designs to date was born.

The Little Mississippi Juice Company produces fresh cold-pressed juice, an easy and effective way to get your ‘five helpings per day’ of fresh fruits and vegetables. The client was looking for a logo that evokes the local, organic, sustainable, and tasty nature of her business, and fell in love with this splashy design!

Dandelion Foods is a full service health food store in Almonte, Ontario, with local, organic, and alternative foods for specialty diets; as well as a community resource promoting nutritional awareness and local sustainability in the region. The keywords supplied for the brand development were “relaxed, whimsical, knowledgeable, and unconventional”, with mandatory imagery of a dandelion. Please see print and web sections for further collateral.

EkoBuilt builds super energy efficient house plans and material kits, and specializes in building to the Passive House standard. The brand effectively conveys the sense of a natural product that is holistically sustainable, contemporary, leading edge, comfortable, and healthy. Tagline was also developed by Sumack Loft. Please see print and web sections for further collateral.

Barons Inn, a local boutique hotel, has been working on transitioning to a more upscale look and feel while remaining friendly and affordable. With an elegant, classic typeface and the edifice placed in a glowing setting sun, the new brand projects the character desired by the hotel: warm, welcoming, and trustworthy. A home away from home. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.carletonplacehotel.com.

The new owners of the Carp Garden Centre, a popular local centre offering unusual and hard-to-find plant varieties as well as the more standard fare, came to us for a new logo and website. Now thoroughly delighted, these fine folks kept the faith through one of the more circuitous developments I’ve had to date when their brief morphed mid-process! Website also designed at Sumack Loft: https://carpgardencentre.ca.

This practitioner of yoga and massage requested that the tree in her logo suggest the notion of being both upright and upside down like the Ashvattha tree in Hindu mythology. She also requested that the Indian Om symbol be hidden within the leaves of the tree. A design was developed with a hand as the trunk, with another hand dropped out in white at the top to suggest an invisible second trunk. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.massagemovementmeditation.com.

Another local farm, Harold and Shelley wanted to communicate the idea of a hardworking family business that is honest, respectful, fun loving, innovative, passionate, community oriented, committed to the industry, advocates of agriculture, and who are educators and leaders in their field. A rich illustration was developed depicting the farm itself with its rolling fields of planted crops, and the trees planted in memoriam for their daughter. Website also designed at Sumack Loft: http://www.harshellfarm.com.