1. 
Ninkasi Brewing Company
Ninkasi is a local brewing company that relies on the history of beer for their logo design. They say that the ancient Sumerians greatly valued beer as a healer of illnesses and the way it brought the community together. These Sumerians honored Ninkasi, the god of brewing, for giving them the gift of beer. Ninkasi believes in the notion that beer provided potable water, health and joy to early peoples. Beer, to Ninkasi, is about uniqueness, culture and community, and the ciruclar design works well to that end. The teal color is reminiscent of semi-precious jewels, the typeface reminds me of early Mesopotamia or Greece, and the design around the outside of the circle is much like a repeated floral pattern to represent the joy that beer brought to the Sumerians, and Ninkasi strives to bring to Eugene. The black adds a nice contrast and the light blue creates balance and continuity.
Ninkasi is great– they’re even hosting a show for artwork made by OSLP participants towards the end of this month! Check it out!
2. 
This is the logo for the David Minor Theatre, the venue that shows movies that are about to hit Redbox in a living room type setting, and allows patrons to enjoy beer, wine and dinner while watching. I’m personally not a big fan of the place, but the murals on the outside of the theater and the logo are so intriguing to me that I had to use it as an example. Like many theaters that are trying to preserve the “old time” theater-going, David Minor’s “theater” text is bordered by bright yellow lights and is set on the background of a black unicorn. I don’t understand the black unicorn. It’s mysterious, it’s unique, it’s joyful, it’s dramatic, it’s barely distinguished from the dark background. It’s almost not there, and yet it is. The slight change in black tone from the unicorn to the background is a nice technicality I haven’t thought of using before. The placement of the phrase, “no longer sneaking beer into movies” at the bottom is distracting for me, and de-classifies the otherwise classy logo.
3. 
I love menus. I think that I would absolutely adore a life of designing menus for restaurants.
For Papa’s, a Eugene hotspot, the menu is more of a logo for their restaurant than their logo, which is completely unimpressive. The sign that stands outside the eatery reminds me of a cheap mom-and-pop diner with little to offer except basic American foods. While the food offered at Papa’s is basic, it’s also pretty delicious. The typography on the sign is not consistent with the typography on their website or on other signs within the restaurant. The only consistency is found in the menu, which holds an incredible amount of character and is completely realistic with what you are served and how you feel within the space. Being at Papa’s is an experience. You have to speak loudly, because more people than necessary are crammed inside together. You should order the food that you eat at family pot-lucks in the park and enjoy your time there as if you’re at the wildest family reunion of your life. The green on the sign just doesn’t go along with this theme for me, and the lettering should somehow emulate that which is found in the menu.