BIKES ARE CHILL.
A small, locally owned bike shop, focused on the enjoyment of the ride, not the skill of the rider.
Casey at Grist Cycles came to me with a vision for a bike shop that didn’t seclude amateurs, or only cater to the pros. He wanted to create a cycling community around his shop, of people that just love to ride bikes. Together we crafted a brand that is a little bit rough around the edges, and never takes itself too seriously.
CHAINS, GREASE, AND THEM MOUNTAINS.
Knowing that this was going to be a brand that had a lot of room to play around inside of, I decided that developing a central mark to keep everything grounded and uniform was a must. Initial drafting and concepting led way to what became the final mark. A bike chain badge giving a visual cue to what the business does, some loose playful hand drawn typography to show the laid back attitude the business has and a subtle hint to the mountains surrounding the shop all hidden inside the logo design.
WELCOME TO THE BONEYARD
In the surrounding area of Grist Cycles, there is an infamous location known inside the cycling community as “The Boneyard”. A large open clearing nicknamed for it’s animal skull scattered surface. Casey and I thought this location would be a great place to pull influence from and add in a bit of local spirit. This led to the creation of the skulls that are scattered throughout the branding system.
Making sure to keep a bit of the goofy laid back attitude infused into the rest of the pieces, I also included some skulls of creatures and animals you’d never find on a forest trail, or anywhere for that matter. The skulls became a key element, a real character of the system and a great compliment to the logo design.
EXPANDING THE BRAND
This is where you get to see how the brand grew from the initial pieces created, into a living growing identity. Since branding Grist, I’ve worked on some really fun posters with the shop, building on the system we created together. Growing it into something instantly recognizable.
“Working with Zach was a blast! I’d toss my vague, half-baked ideas at him and he would expand them into brillant finished pieces. Great work!”
CASEY – GRIST CYCLES
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