Once again, RMIT requires students to do actual real-life useful stuff as part of a course. This time I have to develop a ‘corporate package’ including a logo. I’m really excited about learning to use Adobe Illustrator, an industry-standard package, and developing a logo for Dark Matter Zine as part of my classwork to be assessed.
I’m so excited, in fact, that I’ve started early. Technically we don’t have to start this segment of work for another week and a half but I’ve jumped ahead and put this design together.
Attentive readers and followers may have noticed a few iterations of < cite>DMZ’s new logo going online; part of developing this product has been seeing it in the wild, in real applications, and getting feedback.
Everyone has been really supportive and encouraging, so much so that constructively critical feedback from the minion has been deeply appreciated. (It’s taken me YEARS to train him to give constructive feedback instead of being a cheering squad!)
For those who want the deep-and-meaningful artsy stuff, I have a list of inspirations:
- blue skin because that’s racist against avatars; I want all sapient geeks to feel equally represented in this icon.
- a hint of Lego mini-fig because EVERYTHING IS AWESOME. And geeks – lots of geeks – love their Lego.
- a nod to the Blues Brothers with the glasses. I loved the Blues Brothers when I was a teenager (I confess I haven’t grown out of them); let me tell you about the time I hitch-hiked to a Blues Brothers Revival Concert and was picked up by a drunk driver with a carload of 20- to 30-somethings…
- the hat began as a fedora but a happy accident occurred: it looked more like a mounty hat. Wendy N Wagner (she visited DMZ for the Women Destroy Science Fiction podcast) said it looked like an ‘intergalactic park ranger’, which I absolutely loved. After that, the fedora-ization was cancelled in favor of just making the brim a bit wider so it looks less like a cap.
- the off-center smile indicates quirkiness.
- the clothing references the Master from Doctor Who and Neo from the Matrix.
- the figure is a woman; this may surprise some people but the driving force behind Dark Matter Zine is of the female persuasion AND most of DMZ‘s reviewers are women. Go figure. Geek Chicks Rule.
@DarkMatterzine I love thew new logo! To me it says “Intergalactic Park Ranger.” Which would be an amazing job…
— Wendy N. Wagner (@wnwagner) July 25, 2014
If you have constructive feedback about this logo, please share. I have several weeks in which to polish my corporate package before it’s assessed.
Cheers
Nalini
