Last year, Sara Kenton approached us with an idea: she wanted to build products that encouraged families to get outside, connect and have fun. She named her company “Yardbird,” and planned to launch the line with Captain Safety, a highly-visible sign holder to keep drivers aware of kids at play outside. Sara tasked us with creating a brand that communicated fun for all ages without feeling too silly.

So, we started with a bright, easy-to-read wordmark and icon for the brand logo, then expanded the design identity through to packaging design and collateral with touches of the outdoors (like textured leaves) for secondary elements. We think it looks great, and we’re excited to say Captain Safety has officially hit the market. Check them out at yardbirdoutside.com

HomePlate Peanut Butter, an Austin brand founded by professional baseball players, approached us last spring to help them create new packaging design for their line of creamy, crunchy and honey peanut butter jars. They wanted to evolve beyond their baseball audience to capture the attention of outdoor enthusiasts in general. They also needed help with shelf recognition – their previous design was well-executed, but tended to blend in with the other labels in the aisle.

Our solution? Be louder, brighter and just plain different from the other brands. Everything about our design, from the illustrative style to the color of the caps, was designed to draw shoppers’ eyes away from the competition. So we featured outdoor-themed compositions with bright, primary colors to differentiate skus while still keeping the brand front and center. We love how it turned out, and we can’t wait to see how it sells. Here’s hoping it’s a home run – check them out at homeplatepb.com

Looks like we’re famous in New Jersey! We’re excited to see that our packaging for Cape May Brewing Co. won Best Branding and Labeling in the March 2019 edition of New Jersey Monthly. We were also really proud to see Cape May Brewing’s name all over the magazine – they must be doing something right over there, and we’re glad we’re along for the ride. Keep your eyes peeled for new Cape May stuff if you’re one of those lucky jerks who live in their distribution range. You’re in for good things in 2019.

We had the opportunity this past Friday to attend, and speak at, Under Consideration’s First Round conference. It was amazing – the best design talent in town had the chance to show how some of their favorite work came to life, starting with the first presentation they showed their clients. We were honored to be invited to show off work that has always made us proud, and it was awesome to have a chance to watch some of the local designers we admire most get up and walk us through their processes. It was a learning experience, but it was also a chance to connect with some of our design heroes. We left at the end of the day a little starstruck, a little tired, and seriously hoping to get the chance to do this again sometime.

We were bummed to see our work for Bird & Biscuit get passed over (the name itself didn’t get chosen for the restaurant), but we were proud of it, and we had to find a way to make it live on. So, stubbornly, we entered it for consideration for the 2019 Communication Arts Typography Annual. And what do you know? It all worked out.

We’re proud of Zack for really nailing the brief on this one. He not only made a beautiful custom type treatment, he built it perfectly within the tone and style of the brand. Here’s hoping we get another chance to work on a chicken restaurant sometime soon – we loved this project.