Internal Essence Logo Workflow

Preface

Launching this blog one of my main ideas was to provide some information about the general work flow. There are a lot of blogs which simply display awesome work but never get to tell the intension nor the idea which lead them to do what they did.

In this first article I am going to describe the way my logo was created.

I have already chosen my domain name a few years ago www.in-ess.net and it’s basically the shortened version of internal-essence. Having those two keywords I could imagine a few concepts but those were not realizable as a Logo. They simply lacked attributes such as working monotone (black on white for instance). Some semi transparent waves simply would not work because they cant be used for specific work.

As you can see the logo can be used in any variation. This aspect is really important as it makes it universal to use. For example on water marking as photographers tend to do or while having a presentation.

The process

When I am starting a new project I tend to do some brainstorming. I am simply trying to imagine some iconic work that matches up with the niche and key words. In this case it was the design niche and the words internal and essence. I am not going to say that this logo was done within a few hours after my first attempt. It was more likely a long term project on which I worked on and off. Thus having several miss guided tries such as these.

As a perfectionist but also a minimalist I could simply not stick up with any of those concepts. There was a simple reason for that: They did not appear to be unique or interesting. Both were just some typo work you can see everywhere on the web. It would have been plausible for some niches but on the design niche you have to stick out and attract people. How would someone remember one of those logos and address them to my site ? There is just a really small to no chance at all.

Well one day I have had an idea for a new logo. This idea was kinda developing in my head and I had to get out my graphic tablet and draw it up onto a canvas and play a little bit with the different elements. I was not able to reach what I had in mind but rather something different which was kind of unexpected but still followed my main idea. My main idea was a pyramid or triangle. The triangle simply displays the graphical side as it is a symbol for geometry. The pyramids built up round about 2500 b.c. were incredible and their purpose was to combine earth and heaven to pursue for something higher. Of course my aim as a graphic designer is equal. Even tho it may not be god what I am trying to reach but it is the superior kind of work. Thus this symbol was perfect for me.

As you can see above, it all started with a simple and thin line and developed over to the nearly final staged concept. The third step added some simple guides which helped me to find the right angle. The fourth step was already a try but it went out of the bounds. So it was not really what I was aiming to do. The last step is the summary of everything that was done above. It simply puts together all the ideas and experience gained throughout the progress and displays the final logo.

As you can see the concept started from something that does not look like the final piece but developed throughout with a few small steps. This is simply because of the fact that I had something amongst these lines in my mind and the creation was not hard at all. Basically its the left bar (symbolizing the i) duplicated and twisted.

Conclusion

Summarizing my experience and knowledge leads me to the point that logos do not need to have great artificial effects. They rather need to display the main values of the company which they are going to be used for. A logo is more likely designed to have a high recognition factor and to be unique. This does require some time and research to identify with the client or company. In this case it was my personal work so I could be free and I also knew the expectation towards my main values. Nevertheless being free does not mean that you can be less critical. This logo would not exist if I would not expect my own work to meet specific standards.

All in all logo work should not be underestimated. It should be unique while serving some simplicity and recognition value in it. It is very important that the logo works in both ways: colored and monotone. I hope that you enjoyed reading this small article on my working progress and thoughts about logos.