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Based in San José, CA

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A logo for Alan

After much research Alan decided he would get incorporated, so I offered to create a logo for him as well as accompanying materials (business card, website, etc.). Though I’ve tinkered a little with logos in the past, I haven’t had any formal graphic design training for identity work. However, I’ve worked with plenty of visual designers and seen how they go about it (while learning what they need from a software standpoint)…so with that knowledge plus some online research, here I go.I started with a logo design brief, to identify the nature of the business he wants to form, the clients/audience, types of perception or tone he wanted to give, and a communication strategy. Here’s the highlights:

  • He’s had years of experience supporting companies of widely different sizes and needs, and want to provide that corporate-strength IT support to businesses that are small enough that they don’t need a full-time IT person.
  • These small businesses need tailored solutions that fit what they need now, but at a level that can compete with larger competition. Their business may expand or shrink dynamically, so their technology needs to be able to scale with them too.
  • He wants to focus on the south bay and support local business. Silicon Valley is an interesting spot to do this because of the high number of startups struggling to adapt their business after an initial boom, and entrepreneurs that come from corporate environments seek that high level of professionalism and robust solutions.

I rifled through a bunch of small business magazines, and looked online to see what kinds of logos others in this space use. Generally, the more local the service, the less designed the logos were–if there was a logo at all. Also, most of the companies skewed either towards the computer repair one-off fixing kinds of places, or the one-stop shops for setting up a business.

The thing that struck me about the logos, and sites, was that they’re focused so much on seeming professional that they turn out generic, and the sense of personalization is lost. There were lots of the same style of business stock photography on the sites themselves. They also seemed a little 1990’s, with imagery like floppy disks, arrow cursors, and @ symbols.

After this, I started sketching lots of small thumbnails of potential logos; to get as many ideas out there as possible. Alan chose to incorporate as Alan Meridian, LLC, to focus on that personalized feeling since he’s working for himself and not aiming to grow a business with multiple employees at this time. So, I focused on the letters, and imagery that would feel connected and relevant given the current technology landscape.

From that, I showed it to Alan to get a sense of which ones he liked from the group. That’s not typically something a designer would do at this stage, but since he was sitting next to me while I drew them he saw most anyway. From that I picked these finalists; shown in a larger size, and shrunk down to a small size that might appear on a business card or other collateral. There’s been an additional wrinkle since I started–he is looking into doing voiceovers too. He was a DJ throughout college and has been “the voice of IT” on multiple corporate phone systems. It’s a little unclear whether the logo could (or should) communicate that as well.

What do you think? Any and all feedback is appreciated.

  • Competitive analysis
    Competitive analysis
  • Sketches to start
    Sketches to start
  • 1: wireless/sound
    1: wireless/sound
  • 2a: AM it.. plus a tall M
    2a: AM it.. plus a tall M
  • 2b: AM it.. with smaller M
    2b: AM it.. with smaller M
  • 2c: AM it.. with its head in the clouds
    2c: AM it.. with its head in the clouds
  • 2d: AM IT.. with a voiceover variant
    2d: AM IT.. with a voiceover variant
  • 3: stacked initials
    3: stacked initials
  • 12 July 2009
  • In Digital, Graphic Design
  • logo

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9 Comments

  1. Phil Clevenger

    13 July 2009

    I love #1.

  2. Claire!

    13 July 2009

    I like the first one the best, I think of them all, it best incorporates him (Alan Meridian LLC) with his product/brand, the well know wifi/sound which many now associate with computers and IT. They are all pretty sweet though- good luck guys!!

  3. Jeff

    13 July 2009

    The hidden “IT” in #2 is really clever, but I do like how the wifi/sound/wave symbol in #2 is so immediately recognizable. (In fact when I first saw it, it made me think of the RSS feed symbol, which also speaks to the concept of communication.)

  4. Jeff

    13 July 2009

    Er, I meant the wifi symbol in #1. But you knew that. 😉

  5. manny

    14 July 2009

    i like the wifi symbol, too – your #1 inspired me to make this:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/manyone/3719960996/

  6. Julie

    15 July 2009

    RE: your Flickr pic: The little arrowhead gives it a branding iron kind of feel to me, as in “this cow belongs in my herd”. Hopefully Alan won’t need to be “branding” anything, though maybe I’d better check. 🙂

  7. manny

    15 July 2009

    haha! i was aiming for the suggestion of a usb cord (maybe if the round black circle is changed to a black square…)

  8. Kevin

    27 July 2009

    “ATM”?

  9. Julie

    28 July 2009

    @Kevin: Well, it was meant to be AM and then with a little IT in there; I messed around with the width of that T forever.

    Alan’s decided to go with the first logo, though, since that’s the best blend of his IT work and voiceovers. What a combo! Business cards should be ready this week.

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