Dorking Artisan Market is a new, monthly market that kicks off in July. Featuring the likes of junktiques, artisan food, vintage clothing and arts and crafts, it is another, exciting initiative to attract residents and tourists to this beautiful town at the foot of the Surrey Hills. We couldn’t wait to roll up our sleeves and start!
From our original work branding the town, we found that what makes Dorking so special is its spirit: from the warm, friendly welcome and feeling of the outdoors to the creative, independent spirit of the town’s retailers and community. And it was important this creative spirit left its mark on this logo, too. This isn’t just another town market – but a showcase of its creativity. And it needed to place emphasis on its Artisan nature.
Fundamental to the success of this – and indeed any logo – is the font. But with literally thousands to choose from, how do you go about finding one that reflects the right personality and character? What may work in lower case has a totally different feel in upper case. And what may work with most letters, may have an awkward ascender or descender on the most important letter for your logo.
Skill and experience aside, it calls for patience. Finding the right font is the most time consuming, but most important aspect of logo design. In the case of the Dorking Artisan Market, even when we did eventually find the right font, we still needed to refine ligatures and redraw some of the characters to add to its personality.
Another consideration was how to link the logo back to the Dorking Town Partnership, without compromising its Artisan nature. Our solution is a beautifully, expressive font that places the emphasis on the ‘Artisan’ aspect of the market, with the words ‘DORKING’ and ‘MARKET’ much more subtle, in the town’s sans-serif Brandon Grotesque font.
The colour palette centres around a vibrant teal which stands out and demands attention in a warm and friendly fashion. And, did you notice the very discrete appearance of the town’s cockerel?
For more information on Dorking Artisan Market, visit
hellodorking.co.uk