Case Studies

After 15 years in the Pittsburgh sign business, Todd’s return to his Lewisburg roots was, quite literally, on a wing and a prayer. Having just moved his family to Gulfport, LA, they’d been there only three months when Hurricane Katrina bore down on their beach-front home. Seeking respite and safety from the storm, Todd and his family came to stay with his father in Lewisburg until it was safe to return. It never was. Their home was wiped completely off the map.

Starting over, Todd bought a downtown frame shop and combined his love of signage with framing services. Brimming with knowledge and experience, he lacked a logo and corporate identity that would help his business stand out from the crowd. Admittedly skeptical of hiring a designer at first - he came from a family of artists and designers after all, and he knew he would be a bit tough to please - Todd hired Bell Design Studio. Their task: create an iconic image that would not only represent his life and work’s journey and Katrina experience (hence the Driftwood name), but also stand alone as a beautiful work of art representing positive change and momentum in the face of challenge.

Drawing upon the themes of uplifting movement, hope and a sense of remaining grounded in one’s values, even in the face of adversity, Bell Design created an inspirational image of earthen tones with elements of the sea and drifting wood, anchored by an iconic leaf design, to represent the movement and flow of Todd’s life and work.

“Being in the image business, it was important for us to have a memorable image,” Todd says. “I am very happy with the end result. It reflects the message that we’re trying to convey in a surprising and uplifting way.

“I wanted a leaf that was going places, full of hope, in the way that the feather floats on the breeze at the end of the movie ‘Forest Gump.’ More than one person has told us that our logo is more than just a logo - it’s a beautiful image, one they’d desire as a piece of artwork for their home.”