Lucky. Thankful. Humble. Proud.

Michelle and I were going through our client and vendor list—prepping addresses to send Christmas cards and goodies—and we realized that local logo design has been a significant percentage of our workflow this year. While we provide many other creative services, we averaged two to three logos a month. That's quite a lot for such a small team, especially in a market the size of ours. The Parker Brand may be small, but we feel like we pack a punch that's not indicative of our size.

Michelle and I feel very blessed to have helped our clients develop new marks, or update old ones. The real joy has come in the collaboration with our clients. We take pride in the fact that we listen to our clients and put the input they give us to good use. We never blindly go off in a direction without first getting a strong idea of what they want their mark to accomplish. Of course, there's the added bonus of growing relationships with some really great people.

Many times our first set of designs have been approved with very few edit requests. I'll never get used to the way it feels to get that message saying "approved" after only one or two proofs. It's a feeling of pride, to be sure, but it's also humbling. When it really settles on you that your clients trust you... well, that's a powerful thing.

We thought it would be nice to collect the logos we've designed this year in one place. When I see this collection of logos I feel thankful for all of the clients that have hired Parker Brand this year. They've made it possible for us to continue doing the job that we love in the southwest Louisiana community we call home. The clients that trust us keep Michelle and I motivated. Their confidence in our brand pushes us to work harder and get better at what we do.

If we're currently working with you, or have worked with you this year, please accept our sincere thanks. If you have a business, organization, club, or manage an event in southwest Louisiana and you haven't worked with our brand, don't hesitate to contact us. We understand the challenges that small businesses face, and we're here to use our combined creative skills to help those in our area build stronger brands. That's our prime directive. That's all we do. Who knows? If you have a small business in southwest Louisiana maybe we can help you too, and if we can't then we'll help you find someone who can.

-Oran Parker

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Hello, Ladies!: A Neat Product & Packaging Design That Caught My Eye

For a product to sell it has to get noticed first. Once it's noticed, it can be purchased and used, then if it's really innovative someone will tell someone else about it, etc., etc. We all know how that works. While creating something innovative can really give a product it's legs, but it's the "getting noticed" that really gets those legs moving.

This weekend as I was shopping I noticed a product called "Brushing Beauties" on the shelf of our local "Bed, Bath & Beyond." Why did these little gals grab my eye? Well, not unlike the Pringle's can that I discussed a while back, the Beauties take things that we know (and are often disregarded), then twist them ever-so-slightly so as to cause our brain to question what we're seeing.

Now, these products aren't exactly innovative. They don't solve a problem, or introduce anything new. If anything, they're just scrub-brushes with a really cool paint job. But, that's not a reason for me to fault the company that makes them; quite the opposite. I think the Beauties are great!

The combination of the faces, hair & colors, married to the packing formed into their dresses, really makes them jump out at you in hard contrast to the other items on the shelves. I'm a hard sell, but I instantly found myself trying to think of someone to buy one of these for. In fact, I would have bought all three if I could have justified the purchase (I'm a hard sell). 

In the end, was the product itself that great? No. Would I go back to pick these up for someone? Absolutely! There's no doubt in my mind that someone would be excite to have these... especially if I got the whole set.

The folks behind this product are putting their innovative brain power on the packaging design, and I think it works! I don't imagine that they're trying to change the world here. They just want you to see these brushes, and buy them. It's probably not any heavier than that. If that's the case then I'm going to call this an innovative packaging design win. What are your thoughts?

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Scribbles 1994

I used to draw a heck of a lot more in the 90's. It really didn't matter what I had to use, I always managed to lay something down on paper just about every day. I've been flipping through some of my old sketch books and have found some things from the Parker Brand archives that I thought I might share.

Today's pics are a few ballpoint pen portraits and sketches I did on some down time while working at the video store. One is of me, one of a co-worker, and attempt at Christian Slater (I think "Pump Up the Volume" was popular at the time) and few hands and objects.

I'm having a lot of fun digging through these sketch books. It's amazing how a drawing can really bring you back to the very moment it was being created. Maybe it has something to do with the extreme focus that's taking place. I find that when I'm drawing I'm truly present in the now. Anyway, I hope you folks will enjoy this scribbling walk down memory lane.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

How To Make A Real Gumbo... Gumbo Gator, That Is.

A few months back made plans to work on a Parker Brand version of the Southwest Louisiana pop culture mascot Gumbeaux Gator. I posted this quick little sketch of my concept, along with a drawing I had done of the original Gumbeaux Gator, which was used as part of a t-shirt design I worked on.

I let is rest for a bit, but this past week I've been pecking along in the evenings, trying to work on the final pen and ink piece. If you've been following this blog then you've probably seen it go through it's various stages. I finished up the inking and ink wash before lunch today, and I wanted to share the final drawing with you.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I was trying to mimic my own style from the Monster Mash series I did this time last year. I used Pitt Artist Pens on that series and I used my Sable Brush on this. I was worried that they wouldn't look similar in style, but I think there is a close enough resemblance to satisfy me.

I've had a pretty good response from this piece, so I may be selling prints of it over at my Etsy Store before it's all said and done. I hope you all dig it. Now, on to the next sketchy victim.

"Medusa Man & Gizmo" A Few Parker Brand Family Sketches

I tell ya, it's really been one of those weeks where I can barely see the light of day. I've got advertising projects popping in from every direction, so it's all I can do to keep a handle on them, and since in the proper amount of creative juice. By the time I get home, I'm kind of spent and really haven't felt much like putting any ink down. Lucky for me, my children have been working on some creative projects of their own, and I'd like to share a couple them with you.

My 6 year old son came up with this little treat the other night. When I asked him who it was, he says, "It's Medusa Man!" I love it

"Medusa Man" by Jonah Parker, Age: 6

My 12 year old daughter wanted to treat me to a couple of ATC sketches, so I asked her to draw Stripe and Gizmo from the Gremlins. She finished up the Gizmo card a few nights back.

"Gizmo" by Lily Parker, Age: 12

It's nice to have kids that can pick up the creative slack when I'm feeling burned out. I hope you guys dig on these. I'd really appreciate your comments. I'm sure the Parker Brand kids would love to hear what you think.

This Logo is DYN-O-MITE! (or "J.J.'s")

This was a pretty fun little logo update that I had to burn out. The client was in a time-crunch pickle so they hired the Sweet Spot Team to create an identity update. Is it a dyn-o-mite logo? I don't know about that, but I think it'll do it's job for the client, and that's what counts. I do my Parker Brand best to produce modular logos that work hard, so my clients can get a lot of life out of them. Due to production deadlines, I had to crank it out like a fire-cracker, but I made sure that I didn't sacrifice quality for speed. If you're interested in seeing where the logo was before the update, then click here. I've got a few thumbnail sketches in there as well. Now,... what was I doing before I started this?

Posted via email from So, what does Oran Parker post?