Graphic Design

New Logo for the City of Goessel, Kansas

In June of 2023, Goessel selected my logo design to serve as the new city logo moving forward! After spending my formative childhood years in the community, it means a lot to know I'll have a place in its future as well.

Client

City of Goessel, Kansas

Date

6/9/23

Website

Live Link

My Logo Design Process

This was one of the fastest logo designs I've ever made, and much of that credit goes to my inspiration for the design.

Upon considering the challenge, I immediately thought of the mural posted on the brick wall of Goessel Grocery and Deli along Main Street that has served as an unofficial logo (or at least a visual symbol of the town) for decades. This mural was painted by long-time Goessel Elementary, Middle, and High School art teacher Brian Stucky and his students in 1979, then repainted by students several times since, including 2009, while I was in school. Several of my classmates had a hand in the repainting.

I started my process by sketching rough design ideas, all focused around the concept of incorporating Stucky's design. After settling on a couple designs I felt were worth pursuing, my work became more tangible.

Drone Photos of Goessel

During a short visit to town one sunny afternoon in early June, I captured a photo of the mural with my drone. This gave me a symmetrical, high-resolution image to work from. A collection of my photos from that afternoon can be seen here.

The Goessel Small Town, Big Heart mural painted on the wall of Goessel Deli & Grocery's brick wall, photographed by Jake Smucker, 6/9/23
Brian Stucky's mural pictured on the wall of Goessel Deli & Grocery in Goessel, KS, photographed by Jake Smucker, June 9, 2023
The Goessel mural is shown in front of Main Street and Crossroads Credit Union in Goessel, KS, photographed by Jake Smucker 6/9/23
The Goessel mural is visible to drivers and pedestrians approaching Goessel Deli & Grocery from the East on Main Street, as photographed by Jake Smucker, June 9, 2023
Aerial photo of Goessel, photographed by Jake Smucker June 9, 2023
Wide shot of the city of Goessel, photographed by Jake Smucker, June 9, 2023
Aerial photo of Goessel water tower and Goessel High School, photographed by Jake Smucker June 9, 2023
The Goessel water tower rises over Goessel Middle and High School, as photographed by Jake Smucker, June 9, 2023

Digitizing the Mural Design

The next step in my process was to digitize the logo by tracing the photo and matching its colors.

Finally, I created the wordmark to pair with the visual design. By placing the Goessel logomark on a backing shape, it creates a base for the visual mark. The square bottom edges of the wordmark provide stability and symmetry to the design. The concave curve on the top of the wordmark provides a visual counter to the convex arch in the mural graphic on top.

My last touch was to add an optional tagline, "Small Town, Big Heart" that can be used at the bottom of the logo.

Final Logo Design

My final delivered product includes numerous versions of the design, appropriate for a variety of contexts.

I hope the full-color logo with the tagline is the primary version used to represent the city. It celebrates the city's history, reflects the ideals of the community, and provides a clear, memorable mark for digital and physical locations in the future.

The new Goessel, Kansas logo designed by Jake Smucker and selected as winner via a contest in June, 2023

If a 1-color version is needed, the Black or Blue versions of the logo may be used.

A 1-color dark blue version of the Goessel city logo designed by Jake Smucker in June, 2023

And, finally, the wordmark-only logo may be used on official documentation, locations with limited vertical space, and contexts that require a minimalist approach.

A wordmark-only version of the Goessel city logo designed by Jake Smucker in June, 2023

Read more about this logo design contest on my blog.

Interested in hiring my services for logo design and branding or other forms of graphic design, video production, or aerial photography? Let's talk!

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Starting in 2024, I took a shot at creating a logo concept for the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. Here's the result of that work—a new logo image featuring a bison, along with new type treatment and secondary logos.

Graphic Design

New Logo for the City of Goessel, Kansas

In June of 2023, Goessel selected my logo design to serve as the new city logo moving forward! After spending my formative childhood years in the community, it means a lot to know I'll have a place in its future as well.

Graphic Design

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In the 2010s, MEDA's Sarasota Network Hub leveraged connections in Havana, Cuba, to lead educational tours in Cuba. I had the opportunity to travel on this tour in 2018 in order to produce this video and promote further tours to Cuba.

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DutchCrafters Customer Testimonial: Meegan Jowdy Interior Design

How do you show potential customers what the shopping experience is like at your business? Ask a customer to tell them herself! In this testimonial video, Meegan of Meegan Jowdy Interior Design discusses the ways DutchCrafters fit her needs and delivered for her client.

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Photography

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Photography

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