Experienced Brand / Typography Designer Needed for Premium Black-and-White Award Badge System

I’m looking for an experienced brand identity, typography, or badge/emblem designer to create a premium, original award badge system for a recognition brand. This is not a generic logo cleanup or template badge project. I need a designer with strong typographic taste, refined layout judgment, and the ability to create something that feels prestigious, ownable, and display-worthy. The award language is: • VOTED • MOST TRUSTED • IN BOISE • 2026 • Presented by LAUDED™ The current internal concept has the right general content and stacked hierarchy, but it feels too plain and is currently in blue/gold. The final direction should not be blue and gold. The finished badge system should be primarily black, white, and/or grayscale, similar in versatility to high-contrast editorial award marks. It should be easy for professionals and businesses to place on their websites, email signatures, social graphics, and other marketing materials without clashing with their existing brand colors. I like the bold, stacked typographic impact of “Best of City” style award graphics, but the finished design must be original, proprietary-feeling, and not derivative of any existing award mark. The goal is to create a badge of honor that recipients genuinely want to display. Reference images and the detailed design brief will be shared only with shortlisted designers. What I Need Designed Please create a cohesive mini badge system, not just one graphic: 1. Primary award badge The main hero version of the award mark. 2. Compact website badge A smaller version optimized for websites and footer/sidebar placement. 3. Horizontal email-banner version A version suitable for email signatures, banners, and narrow placements. 4. Square social post version A social-ready version for LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and similar platforms. All versions should share a unified visual language. Creative Direction The design should feel: • premium • confident • editorial • highly readable • typographic • modern but timeless • bold without being cheesy • prestigious without feeling corporate or generic The design should rely on: • typography • spacing • contrast • silhouette • visual hierarchy • smart composition It should not rely on blue/gold coloring, metallic effects, or generic seal/badge templates. Important Requirements The final system must be: • black-and-white and/or grayscale first • original, not copied or derivative • typography-led • suitable for transparent-background use • effective on both light and dark backgrounds • polished enough for professional websites • delivered as professional Adobe Illustrator files • editable for future updates where possible The required master format is Adobe Illustrator. Please provide both a live-text editable Illustrator file for future content changes and an outlined/vector production file that preserves the final design exactly. Illustrator editability is important because future versions may need text, city, category, or year changes. Deliverables Please provide: • Adobe Illustrator .AI master file • live-text editable Illustrator version where possible • outlined/vector production version • organized layers • primary award badge • compact website badge • horizontal email/banner version • square social post version • transparent PNG exports • black version • white version • grayscale version • reversed/dark-background version • JPG previews on light and dark backgrounds • SVG/vector export if possible • PDF export if possible • font names and font source/licensing notes Preferred Process I would like to begin with a concept phase. Please propose 3 distinct original concept directions, such as: 1. pure stacked typographic badge 2. premium editorial award mark 3. compact digital-first recognition badge After selecting the strongest direction, we will refine it into the full badge system. I’m open to structuring this as milestones: • Milestone 1: concept directions • Milestone 2: final badge system and exports What to Avoid Please avoid: • stock badge templates • clipart-style awards • generic seal designs • copying reference materials • blue/gold palette • metallic 3D styling • overly ornate vintage decoration • anything that looks like a cheap certificate sticker • designs that lose impact in black and white • flattened-only files that cannot be edited later Ideal Designer The ideal designer has experience with: • brand identity • typography-heavy logo design • editorial layout • badge/emblem systems • black-and-white design • professional Adobe Illustrator deliverables Please only apply if you have a strong eye for typography and can show relevant work. Important Application Instructions Please do not create speculative designs or mockups at this stage. Reference images and the full visual brief will be shared only with shortlisted designers. At this stage, I am not asking for design concepts. I am evaluating: 1. relevant experience 2. typographic and brand design judgment 3. your proposed process 4. your pricing structure 5. your estimated timeline 6. your Illustrator file readiness To be considered, please include: 1. 2–4 relevant portfolio examples 2. a short note on why you are a fit for this project 3. your recommended process for concept development and refinement 4. your quote for concept phase and final delivery 5. your estimated timeline 6. confirmation that you can deliver both a live-text editable Illustrator file and an outlined/vector production file Please do not submit generic AI-generated proposals or speculative badge designs. Thoughtful, project-specific responses only. To confirm you read this carefully, begin your proposal with: “Monochrome badge system.” Budget I am open to fixed-price proposals for this project. Please include: 1. your quote for an initial concept phase 2. and your quote for final refinement and delivery of the full badge system I am looking for strong design judgment, originality, and efficient execution — not just the lowest price. If the first project goes well, there may be additional work for future years, cities, categories, and related award assets.