50 small

50 small is a label created by the Crown O’Maine food coop and their farming partners to sell homegrown, organic food to retailers across New England. The coop started in 1995 as a way for small to mid size farmers in Maine to join together to collectively share the costs for delivering their produce to retailers. Crown O Maine offers a range of products including produce, fruit, dairy, plant proteins, locally grown and milled grains, tofu, eggs, and specialty foods, however each producer had their own brand and naming so while all of these local items were coming from the coop, customers were ignorant of the coops existence. In an effort to better leverage their collective power, the coop decided to create an overarching label and brand for their products and thus 50 small was born.

A brand, specifically a logo, can grow just like a plant morphing and changing over time for the better. One of the advantages of working with a group of people vs just as a solo designer is having the chance to feed off each other to make a piece better and better.

Here is an example of where a journey can begin as an initial sketch and then transform into its final form thanks to the collaboration of others.