Northwest Ohio
Location
Brand Designer
Role
Sept 2019 – Present
Timeline
Brady Prater, Owner
Context
Prater Landscaping —
Full Brand Identity
Brand Identity · Print · Freelance
Prater Landscaping
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DESIGN WORK
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HOME
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Procreate
Scope
Freelance — full creative direction, production, and print coordination.
Deliverables
Logo system, color palette, business cards, letterhead, tri-fold brochure, yard signs, vehicle magnets.
I started by researching landscaping brands and their visual language, then moved through hand sketches, annotated design reviews with Brady, and three rounds of digitized revisions before arriving at the final logo — a circular badge concept representing a cross-section of ground, with a plant whose stem curves into a "P" for Prater, an orange arc representing the sun, and a shovel shape forming the base.
Brady Prater came to me in 2019 with a landscaping business and no visual identity. He needed a logo that felt professional, communicated what the company did, and would hold up across everything from yard signs to business cards to truck magnets.
From first sketch to full brand system — built for a business starting from zero.
About the Project
The final deliverables went well beyond a logo file: I produced letterhead, business cards, and a tri-fold brochure — and coordinated print production and shipping directly to Brady's business.
"Josh Palmer is very talented, and excellent to do business with. Josh came up with unique and exceptional logo designs for my landscaping business, was great to communicate with, and helped me every step of the way. From ordering business cards, yard signs and vehicle magnets, to paper or digital ads, Josh handled it all for me and had everything shipped right to my company."
Brady Prater, Owner · Prater Landscaping
The complete brand system — business cards, letterhead, and tri-fold brochure — all built from the final logo and color scheme, with an Illustrator-drawn lawn-mowing figure adding depth and a human element.
Brand Suite
Final Deliverables
Why the orange arc: The sun arch ties in a third color and visually balances the logo — the warm arc contrasts the cool green plant above and the brown earth below, giving the mark a strong compositional anchor.
Three digitized versions built from the final sketch. The rightmost — with the orange sun arc — became the approved logo.
Logo Development
Digitized Revisions
Annotated final sketch: The selected concept showed the logo as a cross-section of ground — grass and sky above "Prater," earth below — with a plant stem curving into a P shape and a shovel spade forming the base of the badge.
Three hand-drawn concepts exploring the badge shape Brady responded to. The middle sketch became the development direction.
Initial Concepts
Early Sketches
Deliver
04
Final logo files plus full print suite — cards, letterhead, brochure — produced and shipped to client.
Three digitized revisions — refining the plant stem P, ground cross-section, sun arc, and color palette.
Digitize
03
Sketch
02
Three initial badge-form concepts explored. Brady and I aligned on the middle sketch and identified elements to develop.
Competitive landscape review — landscaping brands, logo conventions, what Brady wanted to stand apart from.
Research
01
From Sketch to System
DESIGN PROCESS