I want to create a lifestyle brand for men that pays tribute to traditional barber culture and male grooming rituals. I like the idea of the scrappy gentleman—courteous and put together, yet isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves and do whatever needs to be done. I want the brand to have an air of nostalgia and tradition with a modern edgy playfulness. I came up with the name Gander & Kutty Co. I think it conveys all the ideas I'm shooting for—the sense of nostalgia and heritage—American self made confidence and ruggedness with a playful, tongue-in-cheek nod to modern urban culture. The words Gander and Kutty can be interpreted as the names of the co-founders of the company, or…

Gander: A look or glance: take a gander at that luggage. [from criminals' slang.]

Kutty: adj. -used to describe something fresh, clean, dope, or good tasting (kutty pie, kutty wings etc.) also used to describe the acts which should follow an incident or dicey situation. [Urban Dictionary]

So, that's my concept—time to start sketching.

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First round of sketching:

More Progress:

As this piece takes shape and I settle into a letter style, I'm gathering more reference material…

Sketchy sketch sketch…

Not as much time to sketch today as I'd like but here's a new direction I'm exploring…

Still picking and refining but wanted to show where I am currently with this. Once I get all the details worked out I will redraw this by hand to get once more. Then I'll play with some photoshop mockups to show different application methods and materials.

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Playing in photoshop with different application concepts and materials. This has been helpful in identifying possible trouble areas in the design, such as details not holding up in a finished product. Also, this is much cleaner than I had originally intended—I'll likely redraw, adding a bit more grit and possibly some ligatures. Feedback is appreciated!

A few more mockups using the beuatifully simplicstic products of Makr…

And my final design…

This class has been a really fun experience and I'd like to thank Jon Contino for putting it together and giving us insight to his process. I'd love to keep working on this project because the possibilities are endless and I could totally see it turning into something tangible, but it's time to shift my focus back to work that pays the bills…for now.

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Minor adjustments made after some constructive feedback from Mr. Contino.

Final.

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In conclusion—through the process of creating my final label, I've more fully realized the brand concept. I see Gander & Kutty Co. as a brick and mortar operation, paying tribute to the traditional small town general store—curating select items as well as partnering with independent craftsmen to create unique items for the G&K brand. The store would be outfitted with a traditional-style barber shop in the rear, catering to men in pursuit of the elusive barbershop heritage experience.