Barrelmaker: Small Batch Code & Creative

Self Scare

This is deeply nerdy. We apologize.

Evil Artifact is the persona and brand identity that Barrelmaker founder Christopher Cooper uses when running tabletop role-playing games at public tables. The logo design is meant to evoke tropes of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, yet still be fun and approachable. "Amplecti Tenebras" is a very loose latin translation of "Embrace the Darkness", which adds a flourish of faux-gravitas.

The logo is designed primarily to work as a sticker or patch that can be put on a laptop, messenger bag, or denim jacket. This sticker-first approach allows for a non-traditional approach in logo design of using different fill colors for the main body of the logo, though the ochre yellow of the outer border, the eye, and the seven-sided polygons remains consistent to maintain stability. The color choices are picked for their "spooky" associations, further evoking the evil in Evil Artifact.

The pupil in the iris is slightly off-center, suggesting motion and life in the object, rather than being just a stationary symbol.