The Idea and Process Behind my First Personal Logo (Prt. 1)

    As I was beginning the daunting task of designing my personal logo, I listed some attributes that I like and sketched various ideas of how to unite the two first initials of my name, "K" and "A". I came up with a few designs that I thought looked good, but I soon realized they did not represent me as accurately as I would have liked. After researching logo design and why various companies have the logos they have, I started my process over.

    This time I knew what I wanted the logo to describe about me. I wanted it to be a portrait of my personality and my aspirations as a design student. The idea is that the logo would communicate that I am personable, unity-oriented and unorthodox. I want it to show that I aspire to be majestic, skilled, detailed. If it is successful and if my future designs portray me and what I would like to improve on, then the logo will be effective as a memorable signature for my future projects.

    I was advised to start my designs by researching and choosing a typeface. I thought I would be unorthodox and use a typeface that I already use, my handwriting. I wrote out the alphabet in caps and lowercase over and over again so that I could identify what makes my handwriting mine. I also wrote sentences. I tried to write very fast and naturally and then I tried to write very slow and calculated in order to compare the attributes of the two. I figured that my handwriting would automatically express my personality so it would be a great starting point. After seeing some common aspects in my letters, I designed an official "A" and "K" using the rules of my handwriting.

    I already had a rough idea of what direction I wanted my composition to go so I spent hours sketching various interactions between my designed "K" and "A". From that I chose a design that had potential to be personable and depict unity while still being easily read as KA. I redrew the design in Illustrator and I am currently in the process of fine tuning the general design.