Changing The Pigeon’s Brand

An Interview with Designer Mauricio Cremer

When the team first discovered the warehouse at 1808 S Good Latimer, they found dozens of pigeons nestled in the rafters. Whether on accident or perfectly made to be, the pigeon became the visual behind the GoodWork brand.

As a bird that travels far but can always find home, we knew the pigeon was what we wanted our ideas and growth to replicate. We brought on Mauricio Cremer, designer extraordinaire, to tackle how to showcase a bird that often gets a bad rap, and define the foundation of our visual aesthetic that symbolizes a new way to work.

GoodWork: How/when did you decide to become a designer and what are your favorite types of branding and other creative projects?

Mauricio: I tell people design found me serendipitously while working at a screen printing shop in college. I was studying fine art (sculpture and painting) and after a brief period of resistance to graphic software, all of the reference materials and paper samples grew to an obsession. As for my favorite type of branding projects … any project that allows me to create a system and brand language, not just a one-off logo.

G: What’s your creative process when you design logos?

M: I always start with a sketch. No matter the project, pen and paper is my first line of defense. Most of the time it happens in tandem with research and reference materials, then back to the notebook. I try to do around 40-50 concept sketches. Pick out the top 5 to further develop digitally, then pick the top 3 after that to present to the client.

G: Tell us about the process of choosing the pigeon and getting input from community

M: In my first conversation with Amy about the project, the pigeon came up anecdotally. As we talked further and looked at some initial concept ideas we both knew the pigeon had to be part of the brand system. I presented various concepts with rationale for each and Amy chose the ones she wanted to reveal to a larger focus-group, of sorts. I always love hearing why people gravitate toward certain things and which brand they choose. Getting consensus on something like this is challenging but I love the process.

G: What are you looking forward to as a member of GoodWork?

M: So many things, honestly. I think the beautiful thing about Goodwork is that it will bring so many like-minded entrepreneurs and artists, from different industries, different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, motivations – house them in this beautiful space that would have otherwise been torn down and allow them to work together to improve not only their respective business but also their community through sustainability. We are nothing without community.

See more of Mauricio’s work here.