Underground Social
About
Josh Gilmer and Shana Spencer established Underground Social in 2023 right here in Jackson, Mississippi. The shop is a cool fusion between a classic barbershop and a salon. The idea is to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and to offer various services in a laid-back, friendly atmosphere.
Brief
When Josh and Shana approached me with their concept of innovating within the personal care service industry in Jackson, Mississippi, I was pumped. I had already partnered with Josh on various projects over the years, including the branding for The Pet Shop Fondren, a graffiti mural at East Brandon Crossfit's former location, and a three-dimensional typographic/interactive mural at RunStrong in the reservoir area of Brandon, Mississippi.
The aim was to craft a brand system for Underground Social that hints at the classic look and feel of an old-school barbershop while also striking a balance to appeal to those seeking salon services.
Execution
On their primary logo, I modified the letter ‘G’ in ‘UNDERGROUND’ so that it sits centrally, and I've added a crossbar on top of it to symbolize the GROUND. With the ‘G’ positioned beneath this crossbar, it visually represents that it is 'under the ground.'
In my design solution, I stenciled the letters to evoke traditional gilding, a technique commonly found in the window signage of classic barbershops.
I also developed secondary logo designs, where I either flipped words upside down or arranged the typographic elements to stack like downward-facing arrows, effectively placing extra emphasis on the word UNDER.
* Gilding: the process of applying a thin layer of gold leaf or gold paint to a surface to give it a gold appearance.
