2023 is the third year of San Francisco’s Transgender Cultural District Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (EAP). The program gives a select group of transgender first-time entrepreneurs access to business help: business development information, a seed money grant, a website and branding.
Below are three logos and style guides I created for 2023 participants. (Here are three 2021 logos and three from 2022.)
Cheverísimo by Papo Rebolledo
Papo Rebolledo is an experienced chef with plans to open a storefront for fresh juices and plates. From the Transgender District’s EAP graduation announcement:
Cheverísimo centers health and wellness for the community by using organic locally sourced ingredients. We offer organic cold-pressed elixirs and a variety of nutrient-rich plant-based foods.
Cheverísimo’s mission is to inspire people to build a better relationship with food by providing holistic alternatives that can nourish their life.
The business name comes from Colombian Spanish slang: “chévere” means “cool”; “cheverísimo” means “the coolest.”
For the logo I used a color palette of vibrant natural fruit and vegetable colors; the overlapping of the images hints at the blended “elixirs” the brand offers. The solid black all-caps type anchors the composition, while the lowercase “e”s provide a touch of whimsy.
Cheverísimo style guide shows logo typefaces, colors, approved placements and clear space.
Snackum Dackum by Kipper Yanaga aka “Kipper Snacks”
From the Transgender District’s EAP graduation announcement:
Kipper Snacks is a trans entertainer, mother of the Haus of Snacks, and clothing and costume designer under the label Snackum Dackum. Specializing in drag, burlesque, and theater, all pieces are custom, one of a kind, and hand made locally in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.
I used images of sequins and luxury fabrics to give a feeling of theatricality and opulence, and feminine silhouettes to honor Kipper’s drag clientele. Strong, distinctive type indicates that the brand is not to be trifled with! Logo versions A to C below are preliminary designs for the Snackum Dackum brand (click to enlarge).
South Pacific LGBTQ+ Travel by Sulique Venus Waqa
From the Transgender District’s EAP graduation announcement:
My name is Sulique Waqa and my business is South Pacific LGBTQ+ Travel LLC. Our mission is to provide LGBTQ+ travelers and allies with the ultimate travel experience within the South Pacific.
Sulique came in with a strong idea of what she wanted: a starfish and a rainbow, together if possible. The starfish represented her native island of Fiji and the rainbow, of course, her desired LGBTQ+ travelers. She wanted logos that worked in full-color rainbows, two-color purple and black, and with type in a turquoise blue representing tropical seas. Below are my first-round designs (click to enlarge).
