Back to the Drawing Board

After I developed my crab logo idea further and experimented with it by playing around with size, positioning, color, etc. on business cards, envelopes, and letterheads, I wasn't completely satisfied with it.  It was a cute idea, but the other direction that I was originally thinking about when deciding between the crab idea or another one was really pretty and curly typography of my name that would serve as a wordmark, or a text-only typographic treatment of my name that would serve as my logo itself.  Since I didn't seem too happy with the final results of my crab logo, I decided to go in a completely different direction and start from scratch, YET AGAIN.  I am running out of time but I am going to put in numerous hours this week to get some good results that I am finally happy with.  I can't just use a mediocre brand identity to represent myself for the next year or two.  I won't be happy every time that I look at it and I won't feel confident every time I apply somewhere or show anyone my branding.  Most importantly, I won't get NOTICED by potential employers if I do not stand out and have something spectacular and original.

So, I have decided to go back to playing around with the other idea of using my name as a wordmark.  I have sketched out several different versions of curly, flowy, circular, hand-written fonts of my name.  Some stand alone, some are accompanied by a little design, and some are placed within some type of border or shape.  What I am primarily aiming for is a sophisticated and neat look.  The colors that I am thinking about using are black and white.  Black and white together and alone looks so simple, yet elegant and sophisticated, while also edgy at the same time.  I am still in the works of playing around with adding one color to the black and white color scheme, which will really make some elements pop.  Also, maybe instead of black I am considering a very very dark gray mud-ish looking color.

So while I work on this brand new identity direction for the rest of the week, here are my previous crab logo ideas on the business cards, envelopes, and letterheads, which I will post in this entry and then ditch the ideas and never look back again.

(note: some of the letterheads have two or three different versions of a header because I was experimenting with different typefaces, colors, and/or positioning)

In the meantime.. getting organized

Mind mapping is a powerful graphic technique that helps us develop our project ideas.  "It harnesses the full range of cortical skills - word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness - in a single, uniquely powerful manner.  In so doing, it gives you the freedom to roam the infinite expanses of your brain.  The Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance" (http://thinkbuzan.com/).

Using the tools of mind mapping, I am going to get organized and take action.  The mind map process fosters creativity and flexibility.  My brain is all over the place; my thoughts and ideas come to me very quickly and messy.  My brain needs freedom, color, image, and quick linking tools to stimulate it fully as I have artistic note-taking styles that include branching structures combined with sketches and keywords and doodles... AKA a mess.  Mind mapping will be my preliminary tool for organizing all of the content that will be in my portfolio as well as all of the tasks that I need to put on my "To-Do List."

As I started putting together my Mind Map it became pretty intimidating.  I didn't realize how exhaustive this map was going to be and it reminded me of how much work it was going to be putting together this portfolio.  I used an app that I bought on the app store called "MindNode," which very easily helped me to quickly add more branches as all of the topics and ideas kept flowing through my head.

Here is the current version of my mind map which includes: all of my projects and work I may want to include in the portfolio, self promotion/brand identity & resume info., my skills, relevant coursework that I have taken throughout college, and lastly my to-do list.

Rough Sketches

Here are some of my (very rough) sketches & comps that show all of the different directions I experimented with for my logo design

Logo Design (and all the frustration)

When I first learned we were going to start branding and making an identity for ourselves I was so excited.  A million ideas were flying through my mind of ideas for a logo.  Examples ranged from my initials or monogram, to my full name, to flowers, anchors, stamps, arrows, tribal patterns, popsicles, waves, and even crabs.  I thought I would without a doubt come up with several excellent ideas but when I went to actually sit down and start it was a lot harder to get started than I had thought it would be.  I had been researching online for plenty of inspiration.  I Googled for hours and also searched Pinterest, which is an extremely helpful tool.  When I went to start actually drawing my ideas, I remembered how terrible of a drawer I am.  I can make beautiful design and art on a computer, but when I go to draw nothing quite turns out how I pictured it in my head.  Although, I have learned that this is sometimes a good thing.  My ideas accidentally change and inspire and push me even further with new developing ideas.  After sketching for hours on hours, I still was not happy.  I hadn’t come up with anything that I was crazy about yet, so I went to sleep and thought I would try again tomorrow.  That ENTIRE night all I can remember dreaming about was logos on logos and patterns and designs.  This happens to me every single night after I am doing design work all night.  Last semester I was having weird dreams about HTML and coding, and when my alarm was going off in the morning I was still half asleep dreaming that an obnoxious siren was going off in the school and I had to figure out the code to get it to stop.  Digital design literally can drive a person crazy!

So to start, I started with drawing different variations of my name in different fonts—curly, boxy, cubed, geometrically… I really love typography so I was initially trying to incorporate something fun into the way my name would look.  After the first critique on my first set of sketches I felt discouraged because after spending countless hours on my first set of ideas they were basically all turned down.  That means all that work was for NOTHING.  Frustration kicked in.  I focused too much on coming up with designs using my initials and the feedback that I got told me to focus on either my whole name as a word mark for my logo or to consider coming up with an icon or symbol that I could design into my logo that would represent me.

This past week I spent just as many hours mocking up numerous designs that went in a totally different direction from my previous ones.  In the end, I decided that I really liked the ones that incorporated a flower or feminine and curvy looking designs paired with my name, or the ones that I created with a crab icon.  The crab I considered for many reasons.  First off, I am from Maryland where we are famous for being so plentiful in crabs in our Chesapeake Bay.  Growing up in Maryland, I am OBSESSED with crabs.  I pretty much eat them at least once a day when I am there.  Seriously.  I was picking crabs when I was not even a year old.  Also, my zodiac sign is cancer, whose symbol is the crab.  I came up with a cute little crab icon who looks super friendly and playful.  As of right now I am thinking that I am going to expand on this idea and develop it more because I think the crab logo would look good paired with my name in a simple sans serif typeface yet can also stand alone on items such as my cover letter, letterheads, envelopes, thank you notes, or resume.