The logo for this site was the most time consuming part of the process when I redesigned back in April of this year. To recreate on screen how I visualized it conceptually was a battle all the way to the finish.The origin of the logo was a floralesque design on a plate I came across at a World Market store while out shopping with my wife. I made a quick sketch in my notebook (you do carry a notebook for when inspiration strikes, right?) and began thinking of the possibilities. The original sketch can be seen below.

Purpose

What I wanted to communicate with my logo was an artisanal approach to design with respect to the historical roots of design and typography fundamentals; all while maintaining a minimalist aesthetic. I thought the organic, yet unnatural, shape of the mark on the plate covered the artisanal aspect quite well and would make a great logo mark. So I went with it.

The Mark

I'll be the first to admit that I am not an illustrator. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used the pen tool to create a complex graphic. So to recreate how I envisioned this logo was a daunting task set before me.

I did a very rough digital "sketch" to begin and used that version for most of the initial designs. (Which was a bad idea I've realized in hindsight, and one I wouldn't recommend.) Once the design of the site was nearing completion I returned to the logo for a more serious attempt. The first pass is shown below.

This was near the desired outcome, but there were some serious flaws. The middle was muddled, the curves were juvenile and the yellow fans looked like afterthoughts. It had taken a lot of time to get to this point and it wasn't going to work. I knew where I wanted the quality of standard to be and it was evident I still had more work to do if I wanted to get there. So, onward I pushed. Several days later I had the final version (shown below).

Accompanying Type

Once the mark was completed I needed the correct typeface to go along with it. (This was the fun part!) I chose the typeface Figgins after I saw it featured in HOW Magazine as an alternative to Helvetica.

Nick Shinn, the creator of Figgins, actually gave me access to it before its official release. The release was delayed by several months and he was very gracious to appease my impatience. I'd encourage you to explore his typefaces; Scotch Modern is another great one.

On a side note, one of my favorite letters from Figgins is the Q:

Trying to Be Clever

I thought it would be neat to use two weights of the same typeface overlaid on each other to communicate another part of design---the process. The faded thick lowercase letters behind the opaque, finished, thin uppercase letters was supposed to communicate the amount of work that precedes a finished, polished design.

It didn't quite work though, the overall look was unclear and the message practically indecipherable. Whoops.

So I removed the transparent font and the result was a much clearer look. The logo was finished.

You may notice one slight difference with the logo shown above and the logo used on the site. When I sized the logo to fit the layout (a bit smaller than the one shown above) it was just enough to lose the detail on the three dots at the end of the fans, so I lopped them off. I've always thought the logo to be a bit weaker because of it. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Onward

Rest in peace floralesque thing.

I really like the logo I have now. It represents a lot to me personally and I occasionally have moments where I think it's extremely neat. However, moving forward I'm retiring the old logo and have already created it's replacement. I hinted at it on Twitter the other day. It's an all-type logo set in Adobe Garamond Pro small caps. You can view it below.

It's finalized as far as I'm concerned (it's easy to make those decisions when you're a one-man team) and I've already ordered business cards with this new logo. I'll show them on here when they arrive.