Hi there,

I have a habit of starting from the logo to build a site's visual identity. It helps keep things consistent and memorable. For this first edition, it's about my own logo. The process took me several months (I had time).

The process

Before anything else, the colours. One thing was certain: there had to be orange (duly paid for, poor merchant). The various greys I already use on my photo blog worked for me too.

Now comes the structure of the logo. To get to a result I was happy with, I had to take several runs at it. Over the course of an evening, I'd try out different solutions. I'd ask for opinions on what it made people think of. Then I'd let it marinate for several weeks/months before starting over.

The very first version of the logo looked like this. The idea was to merge the N and the H. After an evening working on it, I was proud to have come up with something cool. A few weeks later, reopening the file… I wondered how I could ever have found this logo cool, even remotely

Still with the idea of blending my initials, the second version looked like this. This time, it's the H that stands out the most, while the N is symbolized by the orange stroke. Other strokes are added; I'll come back to the symbolism later. The feedback on this logo was mixed:

• the crossbar of the H isn't straight
• the middle part looks like a Swiss Army knife
• it looks like a hospital or heliport H
• it's the join between 2 photos on a film strip

Not wanting a logo that brought a hospital to mind, I had to think up a 3rd version.

We go back to an N as an integral part of the logo, while the H is suggested by the orange bar.

I feel like we're getting close, but it still needs more work to get there.

After a few attempts, I found the logo still too complicated. So I simplified it by keeping only the old central part.

The feedback matched the message I wanted to convey, while still leaving the freedom to see something else in it:

• a compass
• the iris of a lens in the middle
• a wind turbine
• a pencil for the orange part
• the bars aren't straight (which is true, because I don't like it when it's perfect)

Logo adopted!

Different palettes in my quiver

For me, the primary meaning of this logo is the breadth of my skills. I trained as a computer scientist. I do design, UX and photography.

I also reflected this trait in the animation on the home page of my site.

As for the other meanings, I think my subconscious did the work for me. I only realized it after talking it through.

A cape, a peninsula

During my studies, I almost dropped computer science to switch fully into graphic arts. Unfortunately I was too far along in my course to do it. So I explored the artistic side on the side and tied it in with what I already knew. It turned out to be the right call.

Could you spot the easter egg that's still on my home page? (hint: there isn't much on the page)

Drawing is winning

I paired design with the computer side. A bit later, I got into photography. It let me express myself.

More recently, I bought a book to learn to draw with an actual pencil. Since I listen to a lot of music, I'm starting to take an interest in composition.

In short, I still have plenty of paths left to explore.

The final word

"Insignificant". Who would have guessed that combining these insignificant shapes could hide so much?

Hugs