Mike Estabrook Logo

Visual Message

I want to convey personal qualities rather than interests I have because it can be applied across multiple professional fields. I also want this single image to produce many different interpretations, such as several aspects of my personality – individualism, thought, connection to nature and sincerity. Though business aspirations are important, I did not want to emphasize mine. Whoever sees this logo set should want to find out more about me as a person. What my interests are can be expressed in a resume or interview. The first impression should be who I am. I think the logo expresses this.

Audience

Because I did not want to limit my opportunities with an occupation-specific logo, the design can be used for several professions I am interested in – arts journalism, the music or film industry, or education.

Design Strategy

To communicate the attributes I mentioned, I tried to use a simple but effective representation of myself. I only worked with two images – triangles and a young man’s silhouette. Yet, when I fused them, changing colors and arrangement, their meaning changed as well. They become a trio of mountains and an abstract boy sitting within them. Even though this is not a complex treatment, it translates complexity because there is not one concrete message intended to be gained. I wanted someone seeing this logo to get an immediate idea about my personality but then think more about it and get another justified interpretation. The type here, also used in my resume to convey subtlety, also complements the similarly subtle design. The difference between the business card, envelope and stationery allows for a secondary message. As you move from each piece of the set, the logo is zoomed in on, getting closer to the silhouette of the boy, until the stationery just features the boy; this becomes almost like a process of revelation about the logo and me.

Style Sheet

Stationery Name

First name: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 45, 35 kerning between K/E, 50 kerning between E/e, -150 tracking

Last name: Avenir LT Std 45 Book Oblique, 45, metric kerning, -10 tracking

Stationery Address & E-mail: Chaparral Pro italic, 9.5

Business Card Name

First name: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 14, 35 kerning between K/E, 50 kerning between E/e, -150 tracking

Last name: Avenir LT Std 45 Book Oblique, 14, metric kerning, -10 tracking

Business Card Address & E-mail: Chaparral Pro italic, 8

Envelope Name

First name: Avenir LT Std 85 Heavy, 14, 35 kerning between K/E, 50 kerning between E/e, -150 tracking

Last name: Avenir LT Std 45 Book Oblique, 14, metric kerning, -10 tracking

Envelope Address: Chaparral Pro italic, 8

Sources and Influences

http://www.fun-with-pictures.com/boy-silhouette.html

Color

I selected blue and green as the central colors because they are not imposing and suggest a certain reflective, natural demeanor that I wanted to express.