One of my favorite things to accomplish when branding a business, especially a small business or startup, is to create a mark which lends the appearance of long-time establishment or greater reach than perhaps the client’s current operations allow. In short, I design brands not only for a company’s present needs, but also look to their future.

I set this goal for all my clients no matter the budget. So when my wife’s and my cat-sitter asked me to create a logo for the pet-sitting business she and two friends operated in exchange for a few free appointments, I happily set to work.

While experimenting on my artboard, I discovered that nudging the capital letters P and S (for “Pawsitive Staycations” or “pet-sitting”) together creates a rough shape of a dog in the negative space. I worked to carve out that space into a clear dog character, then created a similar cat character in the remaining negative shape of the S, and turned the counter of the P into a house, a solution which visually communicates the brand’s ultimate purpose.

When I presented this logo to my client, she started crying. While this is a rare reaction from a client when revealing a final logo, I've always felt it's a great bar to strive to achieve. She loves the mark and its effectiveness has helped her maintain existing clients and attract new ones.