Its been a fun and challenging few weeks putting together a variety of logo designs for some corporate clients. I have been working on a majority of Apartment Complex refreshes. This first batch of logos was sent over for an upscale retail and living area in Frisco, TX. 

The clients had asked for a bold design, possibly featuring an abstract symbol or directional lines. The first 2 clearly met that objective, while the second 2 options felt very North Dallas to me. Luckily I lived in Dallas for 7 years so I am familiar with this area. Ultimately the client settled on this logo, but I still like to show the process work! 

Next up on the list was a quaint property located in Manassas, Virginia. The town center has an old town Americana vibe complete with water tower. They wanted the logo to feel historic. Here was my first stab at the marks:

I thought the first option was a home run, but the clients felt drawn to option #2. I took the time to redraw their leasing office and highlight the architectural details to make it appear like an old bungalow. So we settled on a soft color palatte as well as a black and white option:

The next property, Waterside Towers is located in D.C. The team wanted a very urban vibe to match the newly renovated business center on site. I loved the idea of using a monogram to easily recognize the building. Hopefully this "W" makes its way on to way finding signage:

This last property was a bit of a heartbreaker. Also located in DC, the client mentioned an "optical illusion" where the logo makes you look twice to decipher what is going on. I thought I had some killer options with these first comps:

Sadly, the team took one look at these and decided to go with a skyline option to really represent the apartment's location. So with a heavy heart I abandoned all the ideas above and totally switched gears to this option:

Just goes to show you that even when you think you have executed an idea perfectly, the clients are ultimately the decision makers and know their audience the best! So these rejects will forever rest here on my blog. Possibly to be recycled for a different community in the future. ;)