Merola Design » Branding

Pre-school gets a fresh new logo, Rego Park, NY

robert merola — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:27:35 +0000

Sesame Sprout has been providing child care and early education services in the neighborhood for more then 25 years. They offer after-school programs and were one of the first schools in Queens to provide a Universal Pre-Kindergarten program. In September, 2001, Sesame receive approval from the New York State Education Department to provide special education programs to preschool students with disabilities and is approved to provide bi-lingual Spanish instruction. They also offer speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and physical therapy and a range of enriching programs.
Rego Park resident Robert Merola designed the new logo and helped re-brand the school.

Rob Merola designs Soma’s new Synerchi identity

robert merola — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:22:14 +0000

New logo for Chico’s Soma brand

Soma Intimates new line of activeware features innovative and beautiful design detailing. The yoga inspired line received its own graphics and marketing materials. The design will be used for hang-tags, labels, zipper pulls and other on-garment branding.

HomeStyle spins off from OneCoast

robert merola — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:24:29 +0000

Robert Merola designs new logo for HomeStyle.

HomeStyle, will be spun off from OneCoast and merged with the regional sales agency, Ivystone Group.

The combined agency will operate two distinct brands: HomeStyle will emphasize home accents and lifestyle products, while the Ivystone Group will focus on the gift market. Together they will have more than 150 field sales representatives along with 20 key account representatives and will operate showrooms in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Robert Merola was called in to re-brand HomeStyle and developed its identity.

YMCA Retirement Fund’s 2009 annual report

robert merola — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:55:17 +0000

Merola Designs 2009 Annual Report

For the third time in four years Robert Merola designed the YMCA Retirement Fund’s Annual Report. The theme for the report is Weathering The Storm. The 36 page report contained dozens of duo-tone photographs of board members as well as clear, concise financial charts and graphs. Merola’s photograph featured on the cover is a composite of three different shots taken off the coast of Long Island’s Fire Island Lighthouse.

Merola also designed the 2006, 2008 as well as the funds 85th anniversary logo.

New line of eco friendly cookware

robert merola — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:12:52 +0000

Robert Merola creates new identity and package design

Ecolution has created a new line of cookware manufactured with an environmentally friendly process.
Logo alternatives support the core identity to help brand the packaging and product design as well.

Visit the Ecolution website.

Merola designs Office.com identity

robert merola — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:42:43 +0000

Logo, brand guide and promotional graphics

Before the dot-com implosion, Office.com was one of the web’s most comprehensive business sites.
Office.com provides information on how to start a small business and provided a Virtual Office suite, Online Collaboration Software, Online Calendar, Groupware, and web based email for your small business made Office.com an ambitious and helpful resource.

In August 2009 Microsoft bought the url to promote their Office Suite.

Merola Design created the Office.com identity in 1990 and collaborated with New York branding agency nick+paul and developed brand style guides and promotional materials for the start-up.

YMCA Retirement Fund celebrates 85th year

robert merola — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 01:19:22 +0000

To help celebrate the 85th Anniversary of the YMCA Retirement Fund, Merola Design was asked to create a commemorative logo.

This fund predates Social Security and was created as an incentive to the attract and hold onto YMCA employees. Today, the Fund has more than $4.0 billion in assets and helps provide financial security for more than 75,000 Funds participants.

While researching the project we found a poster in the YMCA archives called “Lend Your Strength to the Red Triangle” by American artist Gil Spear. As soon as we saw it we knew this would be the type of iconic image we were looking for.

The process of redrawing the figure in Adobe Illustrator and reducing the full color painting to work as a logo was time consuming. The type treatment and color studies were done and a postage stamp border treatment was added to reinforce the commemorative feel and help add a sense of scale.

A holiday card design and alternate versions of the logo were done for one color, two color, three color and full color uses. A poster of this graphic is also in the works.

The original 1916 Gil Spear painting was part of the United War Work Campaign and it is among the best examples of United States propaganda during World War One.

Spear’s name is often mentioned among the top illustrator of the early twentieth century, along with James Montgomery Flagg, James H. Daugherty, Ben Shahn and Otto Fischer. Gil Spear Painting served as the design inspiration.

Robert Merola has worked on several YMCA Retirement Fund projects and been their Annual report designer for several years.