M R Taxidermy Logo
Fast Facts
Background
This was a logo design project for a new taxidermy business, M R Taxidermy.
It was also the first logo project I did as a freelancer after graduating college in June 2026.
Project Results
The final logo provided a face for the brand and the starting point of its brand identity.
Lessons learned
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Further practice in logo design
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Managing client communications as a freelancer
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Using client ideas/feedback to enhance a design
Software
Case Study
Overview
This project was the first freelance graphic design project I did after graduating college in June 2026. A friend of my stepbrother's was starting up his own taxidermy business and was interested in getting a logo created for it. He'd heard about my creative work and after I sent him some examples of my other animal related artwork he commissioned me to design his logo.
The Challenge
As mentioned before, this was my first client project I had after college. It was the first time I was handling client work completely on my own, which felt a bit daunting at first.
I needed to use strong communication and self-management skills to ensure I my client's project was handled smoothly.
Design Process
1. Ideation. When I took this project on, my client already had an idea of what he wanted his logo to look like and sent me a sketch:
His initial idea was a prairie marten on a log. Prairie martens are weasel-like animals that he had experience working with.
He also sent me lots of reference images of prairie martens:
I'd never heard of prairie martens before this project, so I spent some time practicing drawing them:
Once I had a better idea of the marten's form, I sketched out a few logo ideas:
I sent the sketches to my client, and he liked this one best.
He asked if I could adjust it so the marten was facing more to the right, and posed as if it was walking along the log.
I drew another sketch using this feedback, which was approved to be digitized.
1.5. Reworking the idea. Before I started working making a digital logo, I had posted some of my earlier sketches to my social media accounts online. My client saw them and asked if the logo could be changed to look like this one:
Since I hadn't started any digital work yet, I was happy to whip up another sketch.
My client decided to move forward with this version instead. I just needed to make a couple tweaks to the marten's facial markings and the letters.
2. Digitization. Using Adobe Illustrator I created a digitized the logo:
At this point the text's look wasn't nailed down yet. I was doing some experimentation with reference to a logo my client had sent as inspiration for the text.
3. Refinement. From here it was just fiddling with a few details until the logo looked right. I got lots of feedback from my client as the logo evolved.
The final logo. The prairie marten represents the kinds of animals that my client works with, white the bold letters add strength to the design.
4. Finalization. I had a couple things left to do before wrapping this project up. My client wanted to be able to put the logo onto hats, so I made a version with alternate colouring that would look better on apparel:
To finish this up as a complete logo package, I created an additional black and white version, a horizontal variation, and a separate icon of just the prairie marten.
Lessons learned
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Further practice in logo design
-
Managing client communications as a freelancer
-
Using client ideas/feedback to enhance a design
Conclusion
Overall this was a successful project for my first freelance design. My client was very happy with the logo, and making it was a great opportunity for me to practice project management and communicating with clients.
The design itself serves as a starting point for the M R Taxidermy brand. It's ready to be applied to apparel, digital platforms, and so much more. A logo is a crucial piece of any brand, and I'm always excited to help new brands get themselves established.