Located in West Hollywood in the shadow of the legendary Chateau Marmont, The Den of Hollywood wanted to rebrand the restaurant and bar with a fresh identity to signal their new ownership. Zookeeper was enlisted to take over The Den's social media in late 2010, giving us unique insight into their customers and discovering a dedicated, hip core of regulars, many of whom work in the entertainment industry. With Pink Taco moving in across the street later in 2011, The Den's management was willing to go with a new look that pushed the envelope.

We created an illustrated identity intended to surprise then endear, a magical unicorn with a mischievous mustache. The strong, bold logotype below was customized to be completely unique to The Den. Not taking itself too seriously, the logo symbolizes the fun times to be had at The Den, an unpretentious, favored hangout in the heart of LA.

“Shawnie and I are excited to welcome Bernie into our family, we love him. We are very pleased with how the logo turned out.”
–Brett Latteri, The Den of Hollywood  

David Brownstein, founder of Hollywood Coaching, approached us for a new logo for his professional development business that caters to movie studios and entertainment executives. He desired a logo that would appeal to both companies and individuals, with a modern, fun feel. 

In the project kickoff meeting, David came wearing a black fedora and was brimming with ideas, sparking the concept that would become the final logo. Zookeeper illustrated a custom iconic mark of an inspired fellow with creative thoughts bursting from underneath the hat. The fun logotype was customized and then filled with lights to symbolize ideas popping to life. The finished product is an identity embodied with excitement, energy and approachable sophistication, the same qualities Hollywood Coaching brings to its work. 

We were excited to hear this week that two of our brand identities have been selected for inclusion in the new Logo Lounge Masters Library Series book, "Typography and Enclosures" from Rockport Publishers. 

What is the Master Library series? Like the existing (and continuing) LogoLounge book series, the Master Library books will bring you exemplary logo design work from creatives around the world. Each book in the Master Library series will focus on a very specific logo design category.

Our logos that were chosen include the identity for Valley Ice Arena (enclosure) and Peter B Media (typography). We now count five identities that have been published in LogoLounge books. 

A start-up farming company that grows vegetables year-round in hothouses in Oregon, SolarFresh came to us seeking a brand identity that was fresh, vibrant and full of life.

Zookeeper researched then brainstormed a logo concept that would symbolize the energy of the lights that are used in the hothouses, as well as an idea that would represent growth.

We designed this logo with an “o” that beamed with glowing energy and an “f” that forms a leaf. Then we darkened the green in the “fresh” type to show the magic of the light ripening into fresh vegetables.

Balloon Celebrations has been Los Angeles’ premier party planning corporate event company since 1981. The boutique shop employs a small army of balloon crafters and manipulators that can literally transform plastic helium into breathtaking works of art for any occasion.

We created their new logo using transparent circles of color that smartly come together to form a unique shape. We customized the typeface, which was chose for its smooth curves and friendly personality. The result is a vibrant, fun logo that immediately conveys visually what the retail store does.

Zookeeper also wrote their new tagline, “The Art of Fun.”

A short and sweet tagline is a terrific way to differentiate your business from the competition. Coupled with a strong conceptual logo, a tagline brings extra oomph to your brand. 

We’ve recently added a slew of new taglines to our portfolio.

Screaming eagles. Demonic clowns. Saintly angels. Artist Matt Andrews sends them down the road in serious style. He imagines and then paints inspiring images on bikes, trucks and cars. He came to us seeking a brand identity for his new airbrush studio named Hypnotic Air.

We created this logo to reflect the energy and impact of his impressive painting style. The custom-illustrated swirl draws the eye in and doesn’t let go. The type was heavily altered to have a unique feel. We also worked to give the logo a sense of depth and dimensions. Just don’t stare too long or you will get very sleepy…

Hollywood director, writer and producer Jon Polansky enlisted Zookeeper to brand his entertainment company, No H Productions. As a movie director in Los Angeles with a notable last name, Jon sought to place the emphasis on his first name and make his company’s moniker memorable.

We created the movie-production company’s logo with a big and bold NO H, and a film spool to be instantly evocative of the industry his business is in. We then splashed it with a vibrant green color to symbolize growth and fun, reflecting the spirit of a production company on the rise.

After creating the new name for this Los Angeles-based kids clothing company, we imagined the Apparel Monster. An illustrated creature threaded together with a zipper neck and button head to be imaginative, fun and playful. More whimsical than scary, the Majicco logo serves as the flag for the stylish, European-influenced brand that’s taking a hip and cutting-edge approach with its fashion designs for kids. We customized a classic font, tweaking it to be youthful and infusing it with an attitude of play, with the two o’s combined to symbolize childhood stretching to infinity. The uncommon gold and silver coloring is intended to make an immediate, bold impression.

When fashion brand Bebe launched their new venture, PH8, they enlisted our help to create the new copy for their apparel brand that would replace Bebe Sport in retail locations across North America.

Reflecting an uplifting, optimistic feel, the copy told the story of PH8, framing the new brand as a fusion of function and fashion for women embracing an active lifestyle.

We wrote the new copy that appeared in their brand guide book, promotional emails, direct mail, call scripts and website.

We’ve been fortunate to work with several new clients lately. Check out the roster of companies that have enlisted our creative services.

A new consulting business focused helping people or important causes reach a higher level of success, Changemakers Toolbox provides the coaching, training, programs and tools for “changemakers” who want to create the mindset of a leader and make a bigger difference in the world. The Canadian company helps its clients get closer to finding and living out their purpose so they can create more fulfillment in their lives.

We created this brand identity to be bright and optimistic, with type that has a fun, unique and inviting feel. The illustrated toolbox comes alive with a bold red and energetic yellow glow, as symbolic images fly upward.  Strong, powerful and full of life, the new logo aims to reach out and invite a wide audience in North America and beyond.

With an intentionally controversial name, Eat Naked is poised to get attention with a book soon slated for publication and an expansive brand launch.

Eating naked is a way of eating that’s delicious, fun, accessible and, best of all, makes you look and feel great naked. Eating naked is eating without the extras. Eating naked is eating fresh food that’s whole, organic, unrefined, and often comes unpackaged.

Light, lively and playful, the Eat Naked logo was created to grab attention with a bigger type and an energetic red for ‘Naked,’ designed with the disappearing ‘a’ to hint at the core of the brand’s message. We also consulted on the catchy name and wrote the tagline for the nutrition brand.

Benson Marketing Group provides custom printing solutions to retail stores across the country, delivering hundreds of unique products that include bags, labels and tags. While focusing on country stores that sell folk art and antiques, Benson Marketing Group sought a new brand identity that would allow them flexibility in the future as they expand their business to serve a wider umbrella of stores, while appealing to a largely female client base.

Brainstorming and pondering many possibilities, we wanted to create a logo that symbolized the delight a customer would feel when leaving a store with a new find that was either a gift or a present to themself. Zookeeper created a custom illustration of a ribbon, with a playful swirl, and colored it red to pop with excitement. The sturdy yet approachable Benson sans-serif type was customized and kerned to give a feeling of space, and a darker blue was chosen to convey trust and security.

An emerging entertainment-and-technology consulting company specializing in talent management, new media, business development and strategic initiatives, LBK Global focuses on making connections. Their mission is to identify new trends and assist their clients in building key relationships that lead to long-lasting partnerships, new business and increased revenue.

We designed the LBK Global logo to emphasize connections, with the LBK merging with the Global to create excitement.  The logomark’s sharp arrow contrasts with the rounded corners to be futuristic yet friendly, with the gradient drawing distinction between the two words.

The brand identity’s mark shows four arrows of connection uniting together, with a plus sign formed in the negative space to symbolize the help and positive increase in revenues that LBK Global can provide to businesses enlisting their services.

In late 2008, we relaunched the website for Iwata-Medea, the world’s leading airbrush product manufacturer. It’s bigger, better and faster than ever. And Artool, creators of the world’s finest airbrush stencils, is fresh out of the oven with its own new website.

We created, designed and developed both new sites to run quicker, look smoother and be completely Web 2.0-friendly. Built using XHTML and designed with CSS, the sites are powered by a dynamic content management system that serves up pages faster than ever. More new content, a Flash movie and a new blog from the company president greet visitors on the front page.

Iwata-Medea first approached us in 2003 to completely redo their self-described “funhouse of chaos.” The site was built to revolutionize the information available on the web about airbrushes and techniques through its quality, presentation and organization. Designed to be the ultimate destination for all airbrush users, the site’s primary goal was to be comprehensive, yet easy to use.

Zookeeper responded by building a site intended to be the ultimate airbrushing destination on the web. The site includes extensive product information on Iwata airbrushes, spray guns and compressors, Medea paints and the full range of Artool offerings, along with expansive sections on resources, uses, tech support, contact information and news about the company.

Today the site, with substantial monthly updates, totals more than 700 pages and forms “the backbone of how we communicate with our customers now and in the future.”

Visit the Iwata-Medea website.

From acquiring the domain name to launching the site, Zookeeper did it all for Douglas Raub Design + Development, a high-end custom homebuilder in Southern California. After creating their new brand identity and logo, we assembled all the content, including writing the copy, optimizing the site for search engines and directing the photo shoot. We plugged it all into a design that was created to be simple, elegant and exceptionally user-friendly. The site features a Flash portfolio movie and dozens of crisp, breathtaking photos of the firm’s work, imaging the company in the best possible light and positioning them to grow rapidly in the future.

Visit the Douglas Raub Design + Development website.