Humbug, the brainchild of Charlotte local mixology celebrity Andy Schools, is still one of my favorite projects to date. Andy called me one day and said, “I just got an opportunity move into a new space and I need a name and a logo for a new bar concept in 4 weeks.” When he told me his tagline “All deliciousness. No pretentiousness,” my first thought was to simplify it to what it reads now, “Always Delicious. Never Pretentious.” The idea was bar that serves upscale cocktails, without all of the frills that often make those places feel unapproachable. I don’t know why, but my first thought was to dig through titles of defunct comedy magazines from the past and one called “Humbug” stood out. I pitched the idea and Andy loved it. Sometimes the right thing just hits without any explaination, and that’s what happened here. The logo was the first thing I presented. I usually submit at least 3 options in the first round, but there was just soemthing about this one. Andy felt it too, and we were off to the races. Soon after, I was helping him get everything from coasters to exterior signage printed.

"Stephen is the reason we are successful today. He took a good idea and made it great and brought the branding behind it that we are known for. It was a total collaboration from the beginning and I couldn't be happier with the end result." - Andy Schools, Owner of Humbug