Baltimore Sun March 10th 1994

Chances are, you have seen at least one of Lenny Rosenthal's designs.

The 37-year-old Eldersburg resident is vice president of design for the Baltimore-based Trahan, Burden & Charles advertising and public relations firm. Some of the accounts Mr. Rosenthal has designed logos for include WGRX-FM, Boogie's Diner, Merry-Go-Round clothing stores and the Maryland lottery.

And if you haven't noticed any of his work yet, you are likely to soon. Mr. Rosenthal's design was unveiled yesterday as the new logo for the Baltimore CFL Colts football team.

"I think the most challenging was coming up with the logo for the Maryland Lottery Commission," he said of the design featuring an "L" inside a pink and blue circle. "The wishbone {the old lottery logo} had become such an institution over the years."

"I've been drawing for as long as I can remember," Mr. Rosenthal said. "I can't ever remember a time when I didn't want to do this for a living."

Mr. Rosenthal started with the company as a mechanical artist 13 years ago and worked his way up to head of the designs division six years ago.

His agency does all of the commercials for the Maryland Lottery and recently won best of show honors at the Baltimore ADDY awards for the commercial titled "Linguini," which features a man who picks lottery numbers based on the shape of his waitress' hairdo and a number he sees in his linguini.

A few years ago, Mr. Rosenthal was called on by the Orioles when the organization decided to add the word "Baltimore" to its logo.

"I was in charge of that," he said. "We added the ornithologically correct bird."

For the past two weeks, Mr. Rosenthal and graphic designer David Gillis have been concentrating on designs for the Colts, the new Canadian Football League franchise.

"Logo development can take months," Mr. Rosenthal said. "This came down very quickly."

Sitting in his office surrounded by thumbnail sketches and mock-ups, he said he was thrilled to have his design selected as the official logo for the team.

"I mounted four helmets for the press conference," he said. "Jim {Speros, the team's owner} wanted to make sure that everyone agreed on the final product."

The design chosen for the Colts is a profile of a horse with the mane waving like an American flag and surrounded by three stars.

"We have such great cultural heritage here," said Mr. Rosenthal, a Baltimore native. "I wanted to be able to merge the two images {the Colt and the flag} into one strong icon.

"Artwork is so subjective. It's your opinion vs. my opinion."

The important thing, he said, is that the client is satisfied.

"You have to take into account the client's wishes," Mr. Rosenthal said. "All the logos I do have to reflect the company's personality."

In addition to the design for the Colts, Mr. Rosenthal designed logos for Boogie Weinglass' ill-fated National Football League expansion candidate, the Baltimore Bombers.

He would not single out any of his designs as his best project.

"Being a creative person, you're always looking to do better," he said. "You're never satisfied."

His sons, Adam, 11, and Aaron, 4, probably would point to the Colts project as their favorite.

"Adam is very excited because he gets all the mock-up T-shirts I bring home, to wear around his friends," Mr. Rosenthal said.

Mr. Rosenthal, who lives in Eldersburg with his sons and his wife, Julie, said he loves Carroll County and that he has a message for county merchants.

"I would love to do more work in my community," he said. "I would love for the businesses in Carroll County to know that I'm available."