Objective:

Design a new logo, signage, and branding guide for The Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg, Virginia. 

​

Audience: 

The intended audience is Harrisonburg, VA locals age ranging from 30-60 year olds. The hope is to create a logo that says approachable, friendly, casual atomsphere in order to be less of an occasional destination that JMU families go to for graduation and football games once a year. 

​

Key Insights: 

The client wants less of an occasional destination, more approachable and casual atmosphere, and experienced. The JoshuaWilton House is an historical home which makes them unique to their competitors; therefore, the structure needs to be seen in the logo redesign. With that being said, the client wants more restaurant and less inn. They want to be seen as a regular place to go eat. Through this process, I learned how to design a logotype in illustrator with multiple processes manipulating type. in addition, I learned how to design a sign and branding system along with working with a client. 

​

Big Idea: 

I came up taking “house” off the name to help drive the restaurant aspect more in the logo and brand. The client accepted and other classmates also implemented that into their logo redesigns. With designing the logo, I wanted to keep it modern with embellished historical flare and structural elegance. 

​

The Process:

I developed multiple roughs and logotypes. The logo with the stairs was first presented to the client. The type was custom, modern, sans serif with small embellishments accompanied with the stairs. When a guest first walks into the house they see the grand staircase which leads to the inn rooms. I placed them above the word inn symbolizing what they lead to. In addition, the idea was so that the viewer was intrigued and welcomed guests in. Lastly, “restaurant and inn” was large straight across the bottom emphasizing the restaurant. After the first round, the client wanted to proceed with the custom text but take away the stairs. For the finalist round, I customized the text more and updated the deliverables.