Logo Design

Recently, I have been given the task of creating a logo for a new program that my church (the Apostolic Lighthouse Church of Navarre) just launched, called Care 4 Kidz; after drawing the initials of the program about twice, I realized that I didn’t really know what to draw and what program to use. This prompted me to do a little research.

I went to several websites looking at lists of logos to find inspiration. Contemporary logos seem to have become very sharp, bright, and complicated. They definitely spoke of the availability of technology. I’m not very old, and I haven’t paid a lot of attention to logos in the past, but thinking back on iconic logos of companies like McDonalds, Nike , Disney,  Sinclaire, and General Electric, they were not terribly complicated. I think that the availability of vector programs and a taste for vibrant color that sprouted from modern innovations in printing, computers, and internet advertising has influenced the styles of many contemporary logos; in fact, because of these innovations, some logos have even become a bit tacky in their extravagance, in my opinion. In these cases, it seems that there is less focus on clever creativity than vibrancy. Of course, there is a vast amount of logos that are still simple, recognizable, and in some cases very creative; the logos for many popular websites such as Google and Facebook still retain very simple designs, for example, and one logo I saw for a Spartan golf resort were mind-boggling.

In conclusion, while I wasn’t able to find inspiration and learned how despairingly common hands and hearts are used in logos, I found this experience very telling on the recent trends regarding logos.

Comic Progression

In my opinion, it was interesting to see the progression of comic styles throughout the years. To me, it mirrors the social changes and the progression of freedom of speech that have occurred throughout the twentieth century.

The first comics mentioned were primarily patriotic, which is a not-so-subtle effect of the decades of heavy war that began prior to the fifties. As time passed, and certain subjects became more acceptable, comics (and other media) became more liberal in their topics. It is interesting to ponder whether the social changes caused the changes in the comics, whether it was the other way around, or whether there was some third event that influenced them both simultaneously.  The documentary seems to imply that comics broke new ground regarding topics that were deemed acceptable.

I find it strange that they didn’t include political cartoons. If the creators of this documentary regarded some early comics as propaganda and some late comics as social diatribe, then I don’t see why they wouldn’t add a small section for this. If I recall, some political cartoons are sequential. Perhaps they thought it would make the documentary boring or twice as long as it already was, or perhaps political cartoons don’t count as comics, even if they are sequential. Regardless, I think it would have fit the theme of the documentary, which seemed to be the evolution of comics as a form of self-expression and social satire.

All in all, I thought the documentary was probably pretty accurate with reference to the major changes in comics over the 1900’s, but it’s difficult to say.

Graffiti Art

The best description I can think of for the documentaries on graffiti is that they were energetic compilations that capture the emotion and meaning of graffiti art and that they accurately capture the spirits of the artists, from what I can tell.

I found it most interesting to see the graffiti art that surfaces internationally. All tend to have fundamental attributes concerning the technical aspect of graffiti art, and additionally have some of the same thematic elements. Though it is used as a sort of social commentary in some cases, it is still a very basic and raw expression of the artist’s thoughts and feelings. With these unilateral similarities, it is amazing to see how the cultural atmosphere of these places affect the compositions. The difference between the graffiti art in New York and Los Angeles alone is fascinating; while they are very similar, Los Angeles definitely has a sort of Hispanic flair.

Unfortunately, I found some parts of the documentaries were difficult for me to enjoy. While the energy of graffiti art was definitely portrayed, I often found that the speed at which the scenes change and the sheer quantity of images, examples, and artists combined with the background music was a little overwhelming. I regret that I couldn’t take more time to peruse some of these works of art and really feel the full effect of the detail and technical genius.

Regardless, these documentaries have instilled a new respect for graffiti art that I could never have gained living in the little nowhere town of Navarre.