Being a designer takes thick skin. You can’t grow so close to your work that you get offended or upset when a design or idea is turned down. I’ve had numerous experiences throughout my career where I thought I had come up with the perfect design, only to be told by the client that for one reason or another the design needed to be changed. I usually find that what I come up with in the end, once I really understand what the client is looking for, is much better than my initial concept.

I’m currently working on some branding and web design for a docmentary about an amazing rescue that took place on the north face of the Grand Teton. The film is titled “North Face 1967″, and I am so excited to be a part of the project.

When we initially started talking about the logo, the client mentioned a concept that I really liked. She thought it would be interesting to see if we could incorporate the mountain peak itself and the path taken by the rescuers, into the logo design. I immediately started sketching up ideas and a day or two later, I had the concept flushed out.  Everyone (including me) loved the design.

However, as the client started thinking about the tone of the film it was decided that something more simple would fit better. I had to agree. While I love the original logo I came up with, it looks more like a clothing brand or ski shop logo, and doesn’t really fit with a documentary film. Instead, we’re going to go with a simple typeface logo and let the pictures and trailer tell the story. I back that decision up 100% and am glad we made it. Even though I like the original logo I did, the client knows the story she is trying to tell and the logo needs to embody that.

Since this logo will never see the light of day, I thought I’d post it here as a reminder that situations like these can teach us to be better designers. Sometimes it’s frustrating to have to start over, but if we internalize everything that we learn, we’ll end up better than when we started and more prepared for the next adventure.

I’m excited to see what we come up with for the logo and website design and I’ll of course be posting that here as soon as it’s online