Charter Street Logo and Map

This is a project I did recently for the City of Salem, MA, to promote the Charter Street Cemetery , which is the oldest cemetery in Salem, and a huge focal point for tourists and tour groups.
Some background: everybody and anybody who works in the tourism industry in Salem, knows Charter Street and it’s importance as an historical attraction. The cemetery has long been a focal point for tour groups, and tourists, often to the detriment of the cemetery itself. The huge, largely un-managed crowds were actually destroying the cemetery. There had been discussion for years about the desirability of managing the cemetery like the major attraction it is, rather than as just another cemetery. There was little to no movement on this front, until the Peabody Essex Museum stepped up with a plan, and funding. Suddenly it was happening. The Peabody Essex was offering the Pickman House, a historic house directly adjacent to the cemetery, (and used as PEM offices), as a visitor center. They decided they needed a logo for the cemetery and a map/guide. This is where I enter the picture. I mention this background because highly visible public projects are fraught with peril as everyone wants to lay claim to it, in some way or another.
I have worked on several large, public projects at the State and Local level. These projects usually come with a lot of potential stakeholders, who all want to feel that their suggestions are heard and appreciated, even if they are minimal or even inappropriate. In this type of situation, not only are my contributions not acknowledged, or valued, but often I am treated as an afterthought, the largely invisible facilitator of other people’s “brilliant “ ideas.

This is especially true when it comes time to take credit for the successful execution of a project.
People, ( I mean people in charge of things), love to take credit for work they didn’t actually do.
Such is the life of a designer. The unwritten rule is if you got paid for your work, you just take your money , keep your mouth shut, and let the “leaders” take the credit. Well screw that.

I’m officially taking credit for both the Charter Street Logo and the Charter Street Map, which I created. Because sometimes a little public acknowledgement and appreciation would be nice.

Front of the Charter Street Map print piece (8.5” x 14”)

Back of the Charter Street Map print piece (8.5” x 14”)

Full color version of the map. Built in Illustrator, this map is editable and has over 40 layers.

The logo is now appearing on signage, and premium items for sale at the visitor center.

Gonzalez Legal

Logo for a law firm specializing in immigration law, based in Lynn, MA.

Artifex Libris

Logo for a company that specializes in book moving and library relocation based in Southborough, MA. The Icon is based on the hand-drawn illuminated letters found in many ancient books. The theme fits with the persona esthetic of the business owner, as well as resonating with librarians and bibiophiles.

Apple House Antiques

Logo for a new Antique Shop opening in St. George, Maine. The logo icon was based on the actual location, known locally as “The Apple House”.

On Script Logo

New logo design for the On Script podcast out of Regents College in Vancouver, Canada. On Script discusses Christian theology in a more relaxed format that makes it more accessible to the layperson.

The Salem Plant Witch

A logo design for a small Salem-based, online business that sells and helps customers maintain easy-to-grow, and somewhat gothy-looking plants. The icon is from a public domain woodcut of a “hedge witch” dating from 1700.

Maitland Financial Group

Recently completed logo for the Maitland Financial Group, a financial services company here in Salem, MA that among the usual portfolio management services, specializes in assisting women with investments.

The Haven Project Logo

A logo that I designed for the Haven Project in Lynn, MA, a nonprofit that helps teens and young adults transition from homelessness to community. They needed something updated, modern and clean.

Annual Reports for the Marblehead Museum

For the last two years, I have been doing design work for the Marblehead Historical Society, a small, nonprofit (5013C) that owns and manages several buildings including the Jeremiah Lee Mansion and the Marblehead Museum, which preserve, highlight and showcases Marblehead history. Among the work has been advertisements, exhibit signage, quarterly newsletters, and their annual report.

Appalachian Mountain Club Trail Crew Centennial Logo

A recently completed logo for the Centennial celebration of the Appalachian Mountain Club Trail Crew. This was for the volunteer club responsible for maintaining sections of the Appalachian Trail that run through the mountains of New Hampshire. The project took several months of back-and-forth with club members and stakeholders. It is being used on patches, stationary and other promotional print pieces.

AMC-Logo Patch

New England Claims Logo

Revised logo design for New England Claims, an independent insurance claim adjustment company that acts as an advocate for insurance companies , assessing damage and coming to a reasonable agreement for reimbursement between the insurance company and the insured. The client wanted a more robust, classic, and less-dated-looking logo. The lighthouse in the logo is based on Annisquam Light in Gloucester, MA.

The new logo design

the old logo

Essex Scenic Coastal Byway Kiosks

Recently installed kiosks for the Essex Scenic Coastal Byway which utilize the byway logo I designed in 2012. These informational kiosks appear in 9 communities all along the 90-mile-long byway. The hardware and panels were designed by Omloop Design based in Framingham, with strong support and direction from stakeholders within the represented communities. The kiosks were fabricated and installed by Design Communications Ltd (DCL).They were installed along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway at the end of November-early December 2018. The Byway is a state-designated heritage program linking 14 coastal cities and towns from Lynn to Salisbury. These kiosks are a part of a wayfinding signage project that has been ongoing for over a decade with the goal of supporting a tourism-based economic initiative by showcasing the region’s historic, cultural, and natural places. 

The 90-mile route guides visitors and residents through one of the country’s most picturesque and historically significant regions – Boston’s legendary North Shore.

The Salem Kiosk just outside the visitor center

Original Byway Logo

Focus Financial Logo

A simple logo I designed for a client who offers financial services and counseling. Almost like a “financial therapist”, helping people get their personal finances in order.

Logos At Work

Logos that I designed for the Gallows Hill Museum and Theatre , and for the Lost Museum, both on Lynde Street in Salem, MA. The owner, Erik Rodenhiser has been using them on signage and items including T-shirts, sweatshirts and other print items. It’s great to see them being used!

Front window of the Gallows Hill Museum /Theatre

Front window of The Lost Museum

Healing Arts Studio

Logo designed for a life coach with her own practice, located in Marblehead, MA. She wanted something that evoked the flow of water overcoming obstacles and leading to healing and a better life. After several tries, came up with a wave leading to stars. The logo is designed to appeal primarily to women.

The Weight Loss Clinic of the North Shore

Logo design for a new weight loss clinic in Marblehead, MA. The clinic will be run out of a medical office, and is dedicated to delivering compassionate, individualized and comprehensive weight loss services to adults struggling with obesity and weight loss. The logo was designed to have a light and friendly, but professional feel, and appeal primarily to women, without alienating potential male clients.

El'VER' Design

Logo design for a young Nigerian woman who designs custom jewelry, mostly necklaces and bracelets, using semi-precious stones. She wanted a logo that would reflect her heritage, as well as what she does, so we decided to use a cashew apple ( a plant native to Africa, and part of her childhood memories) as the logomark motif, and bright, saturated colors that are common in Nigerian fashion.

Aeon Nonprofit Training Associates, LLC

Logo redesign project for a counseling and therapist practice in Lynn, MA. The original logo was interesting but was not created in a vector format, so it was largely unusable for anything but web applications. The first part of the job was recreating the existing logo in a vector format.

After looking at the reconstructed logo, the client decided that it could use some simplification and a color change to something a little less “pharmaceutical” looking.

The original logo

The logo reconstructed in a vector and somewhat simplified format

After a lot of trial-and-error, an aqua and silver combination was chosen as the final color combination. The new logo retained most of the original design elements , bu the new colors lightened the tone and feel.

The new logo color combination

Promotional Materials for "The Spirits Speak"

A 5.5” x 8.5” one-sided handbill and a 2.5” x 7” souvenir ticket I created for “The Spirits Speak” , a recreation of an late 19th-century, Victorian-style seance, that employs many of the tricks and techniques originally used by practitioners of spiritualism. The show was developed and produced by the Essex National Historical Commission, and is designed to not only entertain, but teach some of the history of the local Spiritualist movement that was very popular from the post-Civil War era until the early 20th-century The handbill and ticket are both designed in a late 19th-century style, to stand out and generate attention. The handbill to be handed out on the street, and the ticket to patrons of the show. Both were offset printed in 2-color instead of 4/C process to maintain the vibrancy of the colors.

The handbill

The ticket

Display Panels and Signage at the Marblehead Museum

Large (24" x 36") display panels and exterior signage I recently designed for the Jeremiah Lee Mansion Stories show at the Marblehead Museum. A total of (10) interior panels, and (2) exterior signs.