LogoLounge

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West Side Organics is a Hayward, California-based start-up com-

pany that delivers fresh, organic products to consumers in the San

Francisco Bay area. Its founders wanted potential customers to

perceive the new operation as a convenient, healthy, and hip part

of their lives. At the same time, they wanted an identity that would

clearly convey what they called “organicity” to all audiences.

Ash Sud, CEO of West Side Organics, contacted Grapefruit

Design of Iasi, Romania, because he wanted to work with an

agency that understood his unique business model and was able

create a brand that would position his company as a leader in the

organic mar

ketplace.

“We entered a rapidly growing market that had established com-

petitors and realized the importance of creating instant brand

awareness. We wanted to emotionally connect with our cus-

tomers,” Sud says.

Of course, the new company had no brand awareness in their target

market (middle- to upper-income people who want to be healthy but

don’t have time to shop) and, on top of that, low niche awareness.

“In spite of organic foods becoming more and more mainstream

these days all over the world, few people know that fresh,

organic produce is actually available for regular delivery to

their door i n major urban areas,” notes Grapefruit Design Chief

Creative Officer Mar

ius Ursache.

Ursache likes to use simple, widely recognized icons. For this proj-

ect, the leaf—an element common to fruits and veggies—was cho-

sen for its simplicity and associations with nature, purity, and health.

The designers selected Info, from FontFont, as the typeface. The

smooth, round shape of the letterforms creates a modern, friendly

look, as do the all-lowercase letters.

“While trying to keep the symbol very simple, I realized that using

asingle, simplified leaf would fail to create a memorable logo,

since it was too generic,” says Ursache. “On the other hand, a

fru

it or a vegetable would have appeared more complicated and

restricted the message the logo needed to convey. So a bunch of

leaves imposed itself as the simplest and most straightforward

solution.” A foliage pattern was created to carry the identity over

to most of the company’s collateral, such as their delivery vehi-

cles. It is an extension of the logo and transmits the same values:

freshness, naturalness, and healthfulness.

Grouping leaves in a bunch further stresses the notion of good-

ness and makes the symbol much more recognizable. Like all the

elements in the logo, the leaves have smooth angles, creating a

soft, modern look.

The delivery vehicles have served as the most public manifesta-

tion of the identity thus far, and have already become a popular

icon in the Bay area. The surface of the company’swhite vans

is

about one-quarter a painted jungle of leaves, and the owner’s own

Volkswagen Beetle also received the leafy treatment over nearly

half of its body. The vehicles’ li ght back ground colors enhance the

shades of green Ursache specified and keep the contact informa-

tion visible, making the autos eye-catching curiosities.

As a direct result of their branded vehicles and logo, West Side

Organics has reported a signifi cant increase in its customer base

and revenue, as well as sustained press coverage in major local

newspapers. “When customers see our leaf-covered delivery van

dri

ve up, there is no doubt about who is delivering their food,”

says Sud.

“The best thing about the design,” Ursache says, “is i ts immense

versatility, despite its simplicity. The two shades of green and the

leaf motif allow for almost boundless creativity while keeping any

future designs well in line with the company’s corporate identity.

The design gives us as much freedom as we want in any [appli-

cation]—for stationery, product packaging, signage, and so on.”

West Side Organics

Identity Design

Grapefruit Design, Iasi, Romania