Creating a Logo

I first met Tammy through A Writing Room. She’s brilliant, an incredible writer, generous and supportive and full of incredible ideas, words and feedback.

She’s published a book of poetry and has a large following on Substack and Instagram, usually inspiring other writers to get their butts in the chair with various challenges and prompts. Which are intriguing and thought-provoking and usually fun.

She reached out to me a couple months ago in search of a new logo. She had come up with something in Canva, but like all things in Canva, it wasn’t really working for her needs. She wanted something she could add to flyers, bookmarks and her social media platforms.

We had a brief call and she described what she was looking for. She likes yellow, and the color salmon, a sun, flower, mandala, not geometric. Likes movement, something artsy, maybe hot pink and turquoise, no green…

It gave me a great place to start. I started sketching, playing with flowers and circles and I had a script font, like handwriting, in my head. I made a list of descriptions: Joyful, bold, courageous. I went back to something she had said in the call, that she writes in many different genres, about many different interests. Which reminded me of a flower I had seen just a few hours after we spoke.

Isn’t it stunning? It spoke to me and I really wanted to use it as inspiration for Tammy’s logo.

I presented three options in the first round. All based on a flower and/or sun with her name the title “writer” front and center. I played with shapes and negative space and combined the flower and sun together. I wanted this logo to communicate joy and creativity.

I was thrilled when Tammy said she loved all three options. But she wanted to see what the flower in option 1 looked like in a circle like option 3. Logos and any design project usually involves compromise and combining concepts, and as a designer I have no problem with that. I love it when clients know what they want, rather than just saying, “no, this isn’t it...”

The resulting combination is stronger than any of the first options.

Tammy was thrilled, I was thrilled. The logo is bright, cheerful and completely reflects Tammy’s personality and work.

While a writer doesn’t need to have a logo or brand, it doesn’t hurt. She can use this to watermark her social graphics so the bots don’t steal them and use them as their own. She can use it for signage at book events, or business cards to hand to editors and agents.

Reach out if you want to explore a logo or other design project. Working with a real human can really make a difference.

If you want to read more about design, go visit my other Substack: Paper & Clouds. 

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