South Lake European
Identity, logo design, collateral, car wrap graphics.
South Lake European is a specialty European car repair shop in the heart of Renton. As a new business, they wanted to shed the pervasive image of car repair shops as being greasy, dingy places with untrustworthy clerks, and instead project an image of a upscale shop that is focused on providing excellent service in a clean, modern environment that is up to par of the luxury cars they service. In addition, they wanted to provide a nod to the racing heritage of many European cars made in Germany, but not in a way that would intimidate their neighborhood clientele. I developed a logo and identity that spoke to their different audiences—a clean, crisp but friendly logo to appeal to their contemporary customers, coupled with an eagle in the colors of the German flag, as a nod to the many German cars they service. The eagle icon gave them flexibility in their branding as an icon that could reside in the logo, or be removed and used as a larger graphic outside of the logo.
Their overall business has been very successful—South Lake European (still using this identity!) looks forward to celebrating their 14th anniversary in 2025!
