Jazz, Texas: A Unique Blend of Jazz and Texan Culture

Creating a Visual Identity for a Jazz Cellar

Based in San Antonio, TX, the South Texas Jazz Quartet, known as Jazz, Texas, lives at the intersection of Texas and American Jazz. Influenced by great artists like Duke Ellington, Willie Nelson, George Gershwin, and Bob Wills, they seek to reflect their time and place. Their time is today, and their place is Texas.

A rendering of an album cover was drafted and produced to house the live performance records for sale. Vintage jazz covers were studied and themes were integrated with the brand of Brent's own ‘Texas Style’ jazz. The result is a piece of art that serves as a testament to the level of detail the project begged.

The most intensive and ongoing service provided by Hilmy is the task of intricately piecing together every single visual element filling the space. Chairs, tables, light fixtures, and tile selection are a few off the list of details that they scour the state to find, giving an element of authenticity to the overall theme of melding class with grit. Additionally, the video department at Hilmy produced the video that acts as a summation of the client's outlook on the industry.

The Jazz, Texas mark, called the “Rise”, is the definitive visual representation of the identity and communicates nonverbally the ‘voice’ of the establishment. To accomplish this, thematic, as well as physical elements, were implemented from the reference material. A musical tuning fork is married into a setting sun on the plateaued West Texas desert. The logo features the Rise beside a customized serif typeface to evoke a modern vision of an upscale Old West saloon.

The project began in March of 2015 in San Antonio, TX, and is still an ongoing project slated to open to the public in April. The challenge was to create a symbol that spoke to jazz and the true roots of Texas lore. The innate sophistication that this undertaking possessed called for the target demographics to be skewed toward a clientele that would appreciate the unique aesthetic appeal that the location would emit. The design elements were aimed at professional individuals in their late 20’s to 50’s and couples who were looking for an intimate setting to come together for quality food, drink, and music.

Dancing, live music, and a nice ambiance create a setting for the Historic Pearl Brewery's newest addition, Jazz, Texas. Hilmy was pleased to announce that they'd be handling the branding alongside proprietor and jazz musician, "Doc" Watkins. The team traveled around Texas to source inspiration to ultimately create a Texas music venue and eatery in the newly renovated brewery. Jazz, Texas opened in spring/summer 2016 in San Antonio, Texas.

This Design was awarded Bronze in A' Graphics, Illustration, and Visual Communication Design Award in 2016. The Bronze A' Design Award is bestowed upon outstanding and creatively ingenious designs that authenticate experience and resourcefulness. Esteemed for incorporating best practices in art, science, design, and technology, they exhibit strong technical and creative skills and contribute to quality of life improvements, making the world a better place.