Yar's Shamrock Shootout

Role: Logo Design
Year: 2017

Background

My friend's father, Ray Hennessy Sr., was a beloved husband, father, and coach who left us all too soon. Mr. Hennessy lived and breathed baseball and basketball, coaching and impacting the lives of thousands of athletes during his coaching and officiating career. But most would agree his true passion was being out on the golf course in his signature pastels.

In honor of him, his family set up a scholarship fund at Canisius High School in Buffalo, NY (also my alma mater), and a golf outing to seed the fund while doing what he loved best – playing the game with those he loved. 

RESULTS

Logo Design 

The family named the event with his nickname (Yar = Ray backwards) and an alliterative shout out to his Irish roots. They wanted a logo that looked legitimate, but also wasn't too serious or stodgy. I wanted to find a way to use a meaningful color palette, represent Mr. Hennessy's spirit, and put together something that looked great embroidered on golf shirts, hats, etc.

The primary logo features employs a bold, serif typeface, with a light-hearted script to do what Mr. Hennessy always did – liven up the place. The use of shamrock as punctuation was my easily recognized but not overbearing solution for a design requirement (i.e., a shamrock was a must). 

The alternate insignia is an homage to his love for baseball, employing exaggerated serifs, the shamrock, all packaged up in a tight circular badge.

The color palette brings together the traditional Irish kelly green with navy and old gold, the colors of both Canisius College and High School – two of the many institutions that were lucky to have Yar as a coach.