Graphic designer?
a family affair, part one - the logo design
My brother and brother-in-law started a construction business this year. Grey Stone is a one-stop shop covering design, engineering, and planning. I can't lay a foundation or read structural drawings, but I do know a thing or two about digital design, so when my brother mentioned he'd been chatting with designers on Fiverr, I asked to see what they had. I was not wowed.
I offered to take a crack at it in Figma instead. Working with family can go sideways fast, but I'm lucky. My brother has a genuinely good eye for design and the rare ability to give feedback that's actually useful. We went back and forth through a few iterations, killing what wasn't working and building on what was, until something clicked.
early ideas
getting there…
and where we finally landed
The final mark needed to carry weight across a lot of different surfaces: the side of a van, a hard hat, a planning submission, a company jacket. It had to feel solid and professional without being generic, and it had to travel well at small sizes and large ones. Construction branding has a tendency toward overworked crests and aggressive fonts that date quickly so I wanted to avoid both.
What we landed on does the job. It's confident without shouting, and it holds up whether it's embroidered on a fleece or stuck to a hoarding on a building site. Not bad for a designer who has never once held a spirit level.
in the wild
