He worked out a few different robots before settling on this vintage, drop-jaw version.
R&R Partners has offices in eight major cities in the United States, so when designer Randy Heil was given the opportunity to create a logo for an in-house mural for the Phoenix, Arizona office, where he works, he took a playful approach with the two leading consonants. “The Rs originally stood for Rogich & Rogich, founders since departed. New clients are always asking what the Rs stand for, and we like to make up various answers, like Rum & Ritalin and Rubes & Rebels,” Heil says.
In fact, over the years, employees have been logging alternatives for the Rs. “My concept for the mural was to create fake logos for a few of the more amusing alternatives. I had a list of over one hundred such alternates to choose from,” he notes. “I began with Road Trips & Robots, which I thought stood out from the rest. After sketching the first logo, I decided to forego any other R&R pairings and instead flesh out the road trip imagery for the mural.”
Heil visually contemplated several robot variations before laying anything down. “I rarely sketch when brainstorming a logo concept. I’ve been paralyzed below my shoulders as a result of an auto accident as a teen, and I draw by holding a pencil in my mouth. For me, the sketching process takes quite a bit of time and effort, so I learned to compensate by mentally constructing ideas, then jumping to Adobe Illustrator to flesh out the most promising concepts. My mouth stick and trackball are much easier to work with than pencil and paper,” Heil explains.
He traced over photos of old Corvettes he imported into Illustrator, and then altered the car’s proportions to give it a cartoonish appearance. The retro-style robot and Golden Gate typeface, along with the vintage Corvette, give this logo a Back to the Future/Route 66 aesthetic mash-up that’s both cool and classic.
This sort of midcentury modern aesthetic is pretty typical in much of Heil’s logo work. “I try to use solid areas of color with clean, tense curves and the use of implied lines when possible. I enjoy the visual aesthetic of the 1940s and 1950s and that tends to show up in my work.”
He worked out a few different robots before settling on this vintage, drop-jaw version.
Roadtrips & Robots final logo and poster designs.
This was created for a transit consultant who had a fondness for the golden age of train travel. The mark was reproduced on faux signage that he displayed in his “rail room,” which houses his extensive model train collection.
This is an event held in Laughlin, Nevada, as a way of saying thank you to the industry’s dedicated businesses, employees, families, suppliers and partners for their continued support and commitment. The motorcoach business has been instrumental in Laughlin’s success as a world-class tourist destination. This version of the logo featured an old-school motorhome, but the final version featured a modern, bus-like motorcoach.
Throttle was going to be a large motorcycle-themed expo in Las Vegas. Throttle was actually a working title while organizers finalized the event name. Moto was another concept I created before the project was scrapped and the creative director started avoiding my calls and ignoring my invoices.
This was a personal project. I like the challenge of trying to visually tell a story while using minimal elements.