KJA Mind Finds

We continue our showcase of logo designs with just a smidge of wisdom from Paul Rand, one of the world’s greatest designers, best known for his corporate logo designs.

A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon. A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around…The role of the logo is to point, to designate-in as simple a manner as possible.

As always, we welcome your thoughts.

Veretta Garrison-Moller
Her art, a reflection of her personality, is contemporary. Her visual brand could be nothing less. The strength of the understated icon graphic is its simplicity. A square box contains another smaller box, at an unexpected angle and position position. On one side, it actually breaks out of the square box, providing the perfect visual representation of Mrs. Moller’s approach to her art and her life.

Alexandria Museum of Art
By combining a distinct architectural element with a stylized shape, KJA fashioned a mark which plainly reads as an A, and at the same time evokes the character and recognizable roof line of the building. The san serif type face provides a clean and crisp identifier for the museum, without narrowly categorizing its diverse exhibits.

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Clean. Simple. Clever. Distinctive. Perfectly suited. Practical. Eye-catching. Easily readable. Original. Innovative. Recognizable. Creative. Appropriate. Any or all of these words should come to mind when describing a logo. How many of them can you apply to your company logo?

This week we continue to share some of the design solutions KJA’s developed over the years. As always, we welcome your thoughts.

Atchafalaya Basin
The KJA crew’s goal: create a design as alive as the almost one million acres of bayous, hardwoods and back-water lakes. Scratchy lettering, with a hand-drawn quality, an organic swatch reminiscent of water, letters relating to one another giving the illusion of connectedness…all these factors offer a visual impression of the Basin.

Diamond Grill
The KJA team knew we needed to capture the essence of the building’s elegant 1930′s-40′s Art-Deco architecture. Inspired by intricate, beveled crystals adorning the front facade, the Diamond Grill logo design embodies all that was iconic of the Art Deco movement.

Welch Eye Center
They came to KJA with one request: freshen it up. Give the logo a lift while building on the strength of their brand equity. Many of the original eye-based elements remained in this redesign – but with a slightly more abstract execution – resulting in a more contemporary mark. The final design yielded a noticeable shift – rather than a radical departure – from their highly recognizable logo.

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Designing a logo can be a totally fun and totally nerve-racking challenge. There’s quite a bit riding on the success of the logo. When a client comes to us needing a graphical representation of his/her brand…the KJA crew works meticulously to carve out the right solution. Ours is not a cookie-cutter process. We don’t deliver logo designs in an hour. There’s no easy-to-use “logo” button that cranks them out. Each logo must speak to the audience and reflect attitude of the brand. Generic has no home here.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share some of the design solutions KJA’s developed over the years. As always, we welcome your thoughts.

Agilus Health
The leadership at Agilus involved KJA very early in the process. Our initial task: develop the name and logo. After extensive research, AGILUS, a derivative of the Latin word for “agile” was selected. Because the core of the company still hinged on the proper workings of the human body, this name offered tremendous potential. The relative abstraction (which often creates intrigue) continued as an appropriate icon was developed as part of the logo. With proper branding efforts, intrigue translates quickly into “memorable” and “effective.”

Bonaire
Private developer, Dan Ahrens, enlisted the services of KJA as plans were being finalized for a new development along Bayou Rapides in Alexandria. Architecturally, the homes would be heavily influenced by ‘cajun’ styles and touches. Our final solution combined the lines and detail of New Orleans style wrought-iron, with a modified fleur de lis. The mark became a marriage of the fleur and the letter B.

River Oaks Square Arts Center
This contemporary visual arts and fine crafts center offers individual studios, two galleries and a gift shop. Their visual identity employs the minimalist “less is more” philosophy, embodying the juxtaposition of the historical structures and setting that define the facility – against the array of art styles and techniques flowing from resident artists.

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