This summer, I was asked by Simona Freiberg to design the very first logo for the Meaford Community Garden. Since I am a gardener, Simona thought that I would perhaps be the ideal person for the task.

Well … my father, Rudolf Gampp, was an artist and passionate gardener and like they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Incidentally, my father also designed the logo for the Obst- und Gartenbauverein in my home town of Oberhausen/Baden, Germany. Growing up, I remember him getting photocopies of the black and white logo printed on white stationary. He would then type his gardening newsletters using an electric typewriter! How times have changed!

The Meaford area is known as the Apple Country of Ontario and I thought it fitting to include a red apple with the design. Of course, I also added some pollinators, because without the bees and butterflies, our gardens would not thrive!

Now … I am a novice when it comes to working with design software. So I began the design stage the old-fashioned way, with pencil and paper. After about a week of working on various design ideas, I finalized the drawing with Simona’s approval! The ink drawing was then imported into Photoshop to clean and smoothen the lines. The final step involved my talented friend Yan Yan Ki, who assisted with the colour application using Adobe Illustrator. This way, the logo design became a ‘community’ effort and I love it!