Holland Vans
Services:
Graphic Design, Logo, Photography,
Early Brand Development
A Flagstaff business that transforms work vans, pickup trucks, and buses into adventure vehicles with beautiful craftsmanship that enable their customers to explore the world around them.
Holland Vans needed a new logo for their growing business to add as a finishing touch to their builds and to create branded merchandise. They wanted something impactful with a nod to being based in Flagstaff.
Brainstorming
The guys at Holland Vans sent inspiration images and a napkin sketch of what they were thinking. We then met and discussed their needs, the goals for the logo, and who their target audience was. They wanted to build on the old logo, which presented several challenges since it was reminiscent of the sneaker brand “VANS”. I really wanted to give them the logo they didn't know they wanted, so I developed a series of rough thumbnails with the existing logo.
They liked the direction of the concepts, but something wasn’t quite right. I explained to them that we should build their own unique brand. I also pointed out some of the difficulties of that logo; for example it could never be used in a stacked orientation which really limited the potential of the logo.
We had a great meeting and heavily discussed the sketches, ultimately choosing to move away from the line but keep the same font so as to not lose the essence of the original logo.
Design
Individual letters and spacing were adjusted and I limited the design to 4 colors. This makes the logo more reproducible in screen printing and embroidery. The trees were a challenge since this logo is going to be regularly used as one-color cut vinyl, and cut vinyl can be very difficult to weed when it is highly detailed. Initially, we tried to use Ponderosas, but it was too busy and would not be good for production. After some discussion, we decided to opt for a more traditional-looking pine tree. The full-color version was completed first. Once that was finalized I began simplifying the design for one-color applications, keeping vinyl production in mind.
In the end, we created something everyone loved! By moving away from the confining line, the logo now draws the viewer in with the promise of adventure, memories, and the exciting unknown.
Visit Holland Vans on Instagram @holland_vans
