Mmmm, logo.

Visual Message:

            In my design I’m hoping to portray a sense of individualism and creativity balanced with minimalism.  Renowned artist M.C. Escher, who is a longtime idol of mine, inspired the basis of my concept.  In using this reference, I am striving to create a certain tone of similarity between famous artists and myself.  I worked to simplify the original design, erasing and adjusting what had at first been highly detailed images of hands and pens.  This way the logo can be recognized and duplicated with relative ease.

Audience:

            This logo would be sent to and intended for companies that appreciate creativity and abstract concepts.  Specifically, I would hope to attract the attention of graphic arts firms and the like.

Design Strategy:

            As with the original M.C. Escher series, my logo is something of an optical illusion as it incorporates two hands that are in essence drawing themselves.  In addition to catching the eye and sticking with the audience, I’m hoping this idea relates an ambience of progressive thinking and right-brained individuality.  The style was intended to be modern, as related by the somewhat sharp, bold lines used to create the hands, pens, and sleeves.  As far as fonts are concerned, my first and primary goal was to continue with this theme of modernism…hence the use of Avenir for both my last name and my contact details.  However, in an effort to also incorporate contrast, I chose a simple yet elegant serif font for my first two initials (Berling).  Avenir is meant to be the primary typeface while Berling provides a sort of breath of fresh air, if you will.  I didn’t really change much between the three mediums; the only alteration was on the business card where I decided to make the background a very, very pale (15% transparency) of the green in the sleeves.  I did this because the card moreso than the envelope and letterhead seemed plain and uninteresting with a regular white background.

Style Sheet:

            Stationery Name: Berling, 30/36, tracking 0; Avenir, 24/28.8, tracking 0

            Stationery Address & Email: Berling, 14/16.8, tracking -10/-30

Business Card Name: Berling, 30/36, tracking 0; Avenir, 24/28.8, tracking 0

Business Card Information: Berling, 8/9.6, tracking 30/0

Sources & Influences:

            http://www.cs.nyu.edu/courses/fall03/V22.0002-003/Escher_hands_2.jpg

Extras:

            Originally I had intended to make the sleeves black, meaning that the only color in the logo would have been the peach color of the hands.  Then I used Illustrator to find a suitable complimentary color to the flesh tone.  It ended up giving me a light blue shade, but I adjusted it to a darker green because I think green is a more accurate identifier for my personality and the message I’m trying to portray.

CarlyS Logo

Visual message: My visual aesthetic favors modernity and clean lines… but with a twist. This is one of the reasons I chose to work with simple, basic shapes and simple sans serif fonts for my identity system. The yin yang connotes balance, but I wanted to alter it slightly to make it my own. This is why I added the stars instead of the traditional circles, to connect back to my personal “signature.” The added black semicircle adds to the shapes to create a sort of “C” and the curves create an “S” in order to compose an abstract representation of my initials. One might look at my logo and on first glance, simply see the yin yang, but upon further analysis, one can see the letters and the globe as well.

Audience: A dream of mine has always been to run my own international advertising boutique. Therefore, my audience will be clients and other competitive services.


Design strategy: I feel that my design aptly communicates my message; all three of them. First, there is the notion of balance in the sense that I can succeed at both the creative and managerial aspects of the advertising industry. In addition, the logo resembles a sort of globe on an axis to represent the international span. Lastly my initials and signature five-point star connect back to ME and MY identity. The Century Gothic font is sans serif, has very rounded, symmetrical features, and a modern look to it. I think the typeface and logo are not only a good fit, but keep the consistency with my resume and wordmark too. My stationary was strategically designed with a traditional letter format in mind, as there is space for a greeting, body and a closing.

Style sheet: Stationary name: Century Gothic, 18/21.6, optical kerning Stationary address and email: Century Gothic, 8.5/10.2, metrics kerning, -10 tracking Stationary phone number: Century Gothic, 9/10.8, metrics kerning, -5 tracking Business card back name: Century Gothic, 18.257/21.909, optical kerning Business card contact info: Century Gothic, 10/12, metrics kerning, 0 tracking Business card front name: Century Gothic, Carly-54.588/65.505, Shatzkin-43.67/52.404, optical kerning

Extras: I chose to use only black and white for my main logo, as it is the most versatile and “cheapest” color combination. However, this also means that my logo cold potentially work in any color combination if I so choose. As a simple test, I have added colors to my logo and perhaps someday they will represent the different departments of my agency. Finance, creative services, account services, and production.

Amrita Mainthia Logo

My logo rationale is on my stationery. Just click to enlarge.