When my dad told me that he was leaving Brooklyn (for the first time in his life) to open up a bagel shop in Syracuse with my mom and two of his buddies, suffice it to say I was surprised. But I was excited to help them realize a years-long dream with a brand that honored the old neighborhood. 

​

The Schoolyard Bagels brand is an homage to the "undesigned" bagel shops and delis of south Brooklyn. When you were opening up a business 50 years ago, you didn't have a brand designer—you had your local sign guy, your local printer, your window painter, etc. Our brand kit is disparate by design. A custom logotype is inspired by the sharp-edged aluminum channel scripts typical of the shops I grew up with. I engaged a local signpainter to translate the brand's mascot and lettering to the windows, with a plethora of supporting graphics and language help to bring a bit of the old neighborhood (and the founders' rough-around-the-edges character) to the kind people of Syracuse.