Logo Design with 361ArtWorks

Confronted with the challenge of creating a logo for my website, I was plagued by too many choices, ideas and fonts. So, I turned to 361ArtWorks for help. I asked my co-conspirator, Randee Levine, to lead me through a type of experience that we had used successfully with other artists, doers, and makers, in order to help me clarify my brand. I wanted more than just an attractive symbol; I was looking for something that had resonance with my deepest self and communicated the essence of what I bring to the world.

First I answered a series of questions about my goals for the website, the obstacles I faced, and my vision or aesthetic. Then I identified each of the parts of my work to be represented on the new site. Next, I began to work with the atmosphere, mood, or energy of each area, and made a hand gesture that expressed that mood. We explored and unfolded each of the gestures until I got to their most essential qualities. Finally, I reached for a colored marker and made a very quick sketch that expressed the essence of each quality.  The symbols in each of the four boxes on the homepage evolved from those energy sketches.

As the symbols came alive through gesture and movement, I found myself doing a silly celebratory dance. Not only did I like the look of the symbols, they also reminded me how much I love and value each part of my work. 

Randee asked me to look at the symbols and choose the one that felt closest to my usual identity or sense of self. Answer: The straight black line. I am a clear, straightforward, direct, no bullshit type of person. And which of the energies was most disturbing or troubling to me?  The wiggly green line.  Why? It represented being indecisive, vague, inadequate, perhaps a little dizzy and off-base. I am less enamored with these “wiggly” qualities in myself as I tend to think they keep me from getting things done and fulfilling my ambitions.

We dove a bit deeper - exploring the world of the wiggle - knowing that if it was disturbing, it probably had tremendous hidden value. I moved and wiggled and wandered about. I let my neck relax, my mind be foggy and my attention drift.   In the end, I realized, or rather rediscovered, that my wiggly nature is a gift I bring to my work; it allows me to be a channel and to open up to the intuitive, mysterious, non-linear aspects of life.

Both qualities are essential—the straight line and the wiggle.  My authentic style arises from the dance between them.

And we arrive at the logo.