Mill Co. 915

Identity Design

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About this project

When approached about developing an identity for a new men’s t-shirt company out of Columbus, I wanted develop a simple logo that could provoke the idea of classic American-made quality from the industrial era and land somewhere between the world of higher-end brand identities and the handdrawn trend that has taken over just about every brand that wants to feel modern industrial.

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Ultimately, my inspiration came from the machines in the old cotton mills and specifically the large wheels that spun on the machinery. I liked the idea of the motion of the wheels and spools and wanted to find a way to incorporate that into the lettering of the logo. In the end this was very subtly creates with with circles in the 9 and 5 of the logo, with the angles attempting to create a connection from the bottom of the 5 to the “wheel” in the 9, and the threat flowing down from the 9. It’s something only I would likely pick up, but everything was deliberate in the final design.

 

I was fascinated with the old logos stamped and molded in the old machinery, and I rounded the edges of all of the letters slightly to soften the corners a bit, as imperfections are plenty in those casts, but that was where I stopped with adding hints of imperfection, as I felt that a company that was going to launch a product that prides itself in quality needed to still feel precise and solid.

 

The end result feels simple and strong. Old, but modern. Soft, yet masculine. It’s also given us a style that I’ve been able to use in other lettering tasks to provide some uniqueness while still being on-brand.