In getting ready to go to SIGGRAPH, I wanted to update my professional image. I have a career website (www.andrewhymas.com), and I had my old “Write. Shoot. Edit.” logo (which you can see after the break), but I’m not really happy with either anymore. They’re a little to direct and big, and I’m leaning toward scaled down, minimalist design lately. After a long time tweaking and refining, I came up with a new logo for myself, which you can see above. I call it the “Balance” logo. If you want to know what it means, keep reading after the break.
I have been a little obsessed with Paul Rand lately. Even if you don’t know him by name, you definitely know his work. He designed the logos for Westinghouse, ABC, UPS, and IBM, among others. You can see examples of his work at his website’s gallery. I liked his minimal, modern design style, so I wanted my new logo to be along those lines.
I recently read about the history of Pixar, and I was struck by the recurring theme of individual people pushing against the status quo. They wouldn’t change everything instantly, but that push would get things moving. I liked that idea, and I saw how it could apply to a many aspects of the media industry, like technology, business, and overall creative approach.
The logo design is meant to portray that. A small, noticeably colorful sphere tips the balance of a large, plain half-circle, and sets it in motion. The white half-circle is in no danger of toppling over, but now it has energy from the motion of the impact. The orange sphere will probably roll off at some point, and the half-circle will keep rocking until it comes to rest. More spheres will fall onto the half-circle later, keeping it in motion and preventing stagnation. In that way, its symbolizes how individual contributions, big and small, keep things moving and foster innovation.
This is my old logo, “Write. Shoot. Edit.”. I will keep using it for other things, but it won’t be on my letterhead, business cards, etc. I’m also going to start redesigning my career website using the “Balance” logo. Hopefully I will get it done before I head out to SIGGRAPH.
The “Balance” logo and “Write. Shoot. Edit.” logo are both © Andrew Hymas 2010.
