Project Direct Contributor - Nic Manship

Nic was the very first contributor at Project Direct. This pit-viper-wearing climber and designer created Project Direct’s logo.

And thank god he did – because my initial attempts were cringe worthy.

Here is our story.

Nic Manship - designer, climber, pit-viper model

Photo by Alta Clark

Nic and I met climbing around Bozeman, Montana and coaching together at spire climbing center. one thing that always struck me about nic was that i routinely thought he was older than he is. i still think he might be a 34-year-old stuck in a 24-year-old’s body. not afraid to goof off, but certainly able to see different perspectives and synthesize them into something greater. that quality is part of what makes Nic such a great designer…

he can hear people’s visions, collect their nebulous rambling, and turn it into a clean, on-brand design. something they can use for years. Something that captures an enduring essence of what they are going for. Something that stays relevant.

Having never worked with a graphic designer before, I was wholly unfamiliar with the process. but, i knew my feeble attempts at logo design were totally not going to cut it. I needed help from a professional.

“Nic, I have this idea! I already quit my engineering job. i know i can do this… but really I need your help!”

With Nic, the process was so fun! Under the pavilion at Ten Sleep Rock Ranch in July 2020, he asked me questions about my vision and came up with dozens of initial sketches.

Initial logo sketches by Nic Manship

From there, we found three concepts that we liked the best and he further refined them. see below for the first digitized versions.

Number 4 and 11 above were the most exciting to us at that point. from there, he developed my color scheme (all while i watched in awe at what was happening) and we landed at what I use today.

Project Direct logo. created by Nic Manship.

I absolutely love the logo. it is What I see everyday that I work.

He also put together my initial brand kit (#ffd400!) and set me up for success and efficiency each time I need to create something new.

Thank you so much for all of your help Nic! You can find out more about working with Nic by visiting his page @nicmanshipdesigns

So thankful for your time and talent Nic!