The decision to update our branding has been on the back burner for several years, during which many ideas have come up and decisions scrapped. Finally dedicating some time to brainstorm and sketch, several things became clear as important focal points:
- The studio’s full name need not change, but ‘Pixel Foundry’ needed to be more prominent than ‘Chestnut Street’ – the focal point of the studio name was never meant to be the street.
- The studio name is a marrying of Victorian (foundry) with the digital age (pixel), so the logo ought to reflect some late 19th and early 20th century signage, but with a modern twist.
The old Pixel Foundry logo’s design was inspired by Victorian street signs. Over the years, people found creative variations of our name (e.g. Pixel Street, Chestnut Foundry), so it felt important to minimize the confusion.
While creating a mood board, a lot of Victorian product packaging was added as reference, as were modern hand-lettered logos and posters.
Early sketches proved that leaning too much into the Victorian aesthetic meant legibility challenges when needing to scale the logo down.
For colours, the chocolate brown and powder blue from the previous branding were used as launching points for an expanded palette that feels bright and inviting.
A lot of tweaks to the logo happened during the vectorization stage, with feedback solicited from trusted colleagues to achieve the final product.
The final logo is a nod to Victorian hand-painted signs, but features clean lines and sans serif letters for a modern feel. The logo version with the stroke and drop shadow (left) is for larger reproductions, while the simpler version (right) is used for smaller applications.
If you are looking for a brand refresh, feel free to reach out – we’re happy to help!
