New Work: Park Street Pizza Reboot

 

It’s not often you get a chance to rework a brand identity you helped create 10 years earlier.

The opportunities to with Park Street Pizza’s founders Rocky & Courtney Shanower on three of their restaurant concepts has been some of the biggest joys of my career. In 2023, the Shanowers celebrated the 20th anniversary of their original pizza restaurant and opening a much anticipated new location in North Canton, Ohio. It was 10 years ago that they reached oud out to Slagle Design to rebrand their restaurant and now seemed to be a good time to readdress some things and give the brand an updated and flexible look without a complete overhaul.

As much as I love the original logo, there were a few things I would change if I had the opportunity to to make some tweaks. When Rocky approached me to do a refresh, I was eager to jump in!

The original Park Street logo (2003) and the new (2023) logo

“Our company was challenged with a need for a total rebrand. We reached out to Jeremy. Not only did he accept the challenge but wholeheartedly embraced it. He created a breathtaking logo, vision and voice. Jeremy reincarnated our former selves into a vital, relevant brand with a vivacious heartbeat.”

—Rocky and Courtney Shanower, Owners, Park Street Pizza

Updates to the logo Slagle Design created on 10 years ago.

Refreshed color pallet and new secondary font selections pay homage to the original branding while giving them assets to use in social media menu and packaging.

Congratulations to the Shanowers and the entire Park Street Pizza family on 20 years of making the finest pizza in Ohio and creating spaces for the community to gather and celebrate with family and friends.

 
 

New Project: Hellbranch Cider Company

 

Slagle Design is excited to share the new brand identity and packaging we completed for Hellbranch Cider Company. James Wilson started Hellbranch as a hobby while working for a national insurance company. As with many of our clients, James’ hobby became an obsession, then a side-hustle, and eventually his full time job. We love helping entrepreneurs bring their passion to life!

It was a pleasure working with Jeremy. He was very patient and took lots of time to listen to my wants, needs, and preferences. He really got to understand my business and the plan for its future. I was blown away when I got the first look at the designs he created for me. I will definitely refer him to others and use his services again in the future. -James Wilson, Owner

We were able to start with what James brought to us. Most of the elements were there in the original logo. Through a process of in-person meetings at the cidery and field trips to local markets, we were able to better identify the most important aspects of their brand and create a logo and identity system that was more impactful, flexible, easy to implement, and visually spoke in their brand voice.

 

New Work: Athletic Mascot for the College of Wooster

 

Slagle Design had the privilege of working with The College of Wooster to design their new mascot, Archie, the Fighting Scottie.

Their most recent mascot, a fighting Scotsman with a sword, was coming under some scrutiny. Students and faculty were concerned about the use of weaponry and pushed for a more inclusive, gender-neutral mascot that could be embraced more widely. Other issues plagued the old mascot. It was dated, overly detailed, and difficult to reproduce.

In response, The college reached back to its rich history to rediscover its original, traditional mascot, a Fighting Scottie.

Determined, fierce, kind, hardworking, intelligent, inclusive—These are just a few of the words Wooster students use to describe what it means to be Fighting Scots.

Because no single human can attempt to represent all the diverse identities of our thriving Wooster community, The College of Wooster on March 30, 2023, introduced an updated mascot that reflects the inclusive community we aim to create while also paying homage to our storied history and heritage.

The Scottie dog has served as a source of pride for generations of Fighting Scots beginning with our earliest days of existence and will be sure to do the same for generations to come.

The updated mascot reflects the collaborative efforts of students, staff and alumni, who generated ideas, gave of their time to help with the research efforts, design, launch events, and provided input along the way.

New Scottie dog costumes arrive on campus this summer in time to recruit and train a new roster of student mascot performers who will work to entertain crowds at home games, admissions and alumni events, and engagements across the local community. The costumes will include MacLeod plaid kerchiefs and matching kilts, along with a black belt and sporran, which is a traditional part of the Pipe Band’s uniform.

A history of Scottie dogs at Wooster

The earliest uses of a Scottie dog as a mascot at The College of Wooster reach as far back as the early 20th century. The term Scots has been used for nearly 100 years with the football team adopting the moniker in 1926, followed by the rest of the athletics teams in 1931.

Content from press release by the College of Wooster on the announcement of the new mascot