Birth of a Logo, Part 3 (conclusion)

You can read about how a designer whittles massive amounts of information and input down to a few visual ideas in part one of this series. Part two deals with solidifying a few logo ideas for the client, and, when the feedback comes, the designer's crushing realization that he's not a genius after all.

After I was challenged to improve upon the first ideas I presented to the client, I needed to reassess where I was. This part of the process is not as simple as taking all of the client's criticism and implementing their ideas, because the client hasn't seen the million things I've tried and rejected along the way. Sometimes their "solution" goes right to a place I've already been. Once I hear what's not working, my brain starts racing with new directions and possibilities, and I have to tune out any well-meaning suggestions that may lead me around in a circle or back the way I came.

Also, design by committee rarely works well.

As I wrote in part two, the kernel of my idea got to stay - the profile of New Hampshire as a lighthouse. Everything else about this logo had to justify its existence.

"Dynamic. Modern. Community."
Those were the feelings missing from my first attempt. And that was all the fuel I needed to set off in a new direction.

Dynamic: does a library coalition need to convey physical movement? No, but my sturdy old lighthouse (an excellent metaphor for knowledge and enlightenment) also had to suggest flexibility, relevancy, and currency. Maybe I should add more well-placed lines to my lighthouse…

Modern: Fair enough. My first color palette of blue and white was pretty dull. What else might be too standard about what I presented? Maybe there were shapes that could take the viewer's eye on a more interesting (and less linear) journey…
Community: Was my design too sterile and unfriendly to suggest a neighborhood place where you'd enjoy going?

I added a more modern color to complement the "New Hampshire Blue" already in place. Then, I tried to create a new set of lines that would be more exciting to look at. Maybe I could add something for local flavor, too…

Okay, we have a second, more modern color to use with "New Hampshire Blue". We have a happy seagull! We have more interesting lines. But it felt like too much was going on. Is the seagull distracting? Is the lighthouse idea lost?

Here's a different approach, arrived at after another million scribbles. Can you see beams of light, books, and the letter "S," all at the same time? This is a triumph, but my old idea had vanished entirely. The colors still look nice together, but maybe that teal should be a hair brighter. And, instead of "books in space," I needed to marry the old idea to the new one.

What if one set of lines was the lighthouse beam, and the other became waves? After more wrangling and heartache, I finally created this:

Eureka! I see New Hampshire, a lighthouse, waves, book pages, an "S," a light beam and the ocean at the same time. It's not too busy or too staid. And, with a tiny bit more back-and-forth with the client, we added an open book masquerading as a door, adding an element of community friendliness.

I was proud to present this final idea to my client, who was nice enough to call it "flippin' awesome."

I'm happy to show off this piece as the result of hours of hard work, but also a lot of constructive communication. I give the client a lot of credit for knowing what they wanted, and for letting me figure out how to achieve it using my own vision and skill set.

Also, support your local library!