I have finally created a new logo for myself that I am actually happy with! I have never been particularly happy with any designs I have come up with for myself.
Generally, I have settled for something that I wasn't fully happy with - because I needed a logo of some kind. But I have always been on the lookout for the right inspiration.
My problem, I have always felt, stemmed from my name not lending itself to any pleasing forms. I have experimented with moving my name or it's initials around into various forms. But my name never seemed to hold any artistic quality to it. My initials, KMH, don't combine into any kind of cool shape, or naturally. The K in particular tends to stick out like a sore thumb. I could rearrange their order to MHK, which might create a more pleasing shape, but then it would just be confusing when I might have to explain how it's my name completely rearranged.
I've seen other people utilize their names in other languages, and it tends to look awesome. But I am not from another culture, so trying to write my name in Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai, etc would be completely inappropriate.
My previous logo got the job done, but to me it felt forced, and not very strong. I would say that at best, it could be described as "Meh" at best, and to my eyes, rather ugly. It felt confused.
But finally, I came upon some inspiration. While en route to Budapest, Hungary from Belgrade, Serbia, I met a fellow Digital Nomad (semi-nomad) and we exchanged information and chatted a bit. When I viewed his website, I found his logo caught my eye, and that it was something I could attempt to implement successfully.
To quote Jim Jarmusch: "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent."
So, I studied his logo, and applied to my own. The key to the logo was negative space. Before, I had focused far too heavily on my initials them self. But here, I was more interested in the seemingly abstract shapes created out of the negative space of my initials. Arranged in quadrants, I placed four black squares over a white background. I then used white letters to cover the black squares and produce my desired effect over three of the squares. I placed my name within the fourth square.
I then moved and adjusted the specific locations of the letters and black squares to create an even balance to the piece overall.
I really like this design, because it plays to simplicity. It's a single color, high contrast and feels abstract, while also conveying the information I want it to.
Generally, I have settled for something that I wasn't fully happy with - because I needed a logo of some kind. But I have always been on the lookout for the right inspiration.
My problem, I have always felt, stemmed from my name not lending itself to any pleasing forms. I have experimented with moving my name or it's initials around into various forms. But my name never seemed to hold any artistic quality to it. My initials, KMH, don't combine into any kind of cool shape, or naturally. The K in particular tends to stick out like a sore thumb. I could rearrange their order to MHK, which might create a more pleasing shape, but then it would just be confusing when I might have to explain how it's my name completely rearranged.
I've seen other people utilize their names in other languages, and it tends to look awesome. But I am not from another culture, so trying to write my name in Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai, etc would be completely inappropriate.
My previous logo got the job done, but to me it felt forced, and not very strong. I would say that at best, it could be described as "Meh" at best, and to my eyes, rather ugly. It felt confused.
But finally, I came upon some inspiration. While en route to Budapest, Hungary from Belgrade, Serbia, I met a fellow Digital Nomad (semi-nomad) and we exchanged information and chatted a bit. When I viewed his website, I found his logo caught my eye, and that it was something I could attempt to implement successfully.
To quote Jim Jarmusch: "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent."
So, I studied his logo, and applied to my own. The key to the logo was negative space. Before, I had focused far too heavily on my initials them self. But here, I was more interested in the seemingly abstract shapes created out of the negative space of my initials. Arranged in quadrants, I placed four black squares over a white background. I then used white letters to cover the black squares and produce my desired effect over three of the squares. I placed my name within the fourth square.
I then moved and adjusted the specific locations of the letters and black squares to create an even balance to the piece overall.
I really like this design, because it plays to simplicity. It's a single color, high contrast and feels abstract, while also conveying the information I want it to.
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