How a Logo Designer Opened the Door For Me

Have you ever connected with someone who within the briefest of exchanges grasps precisely what you are trying to create? I expect it is a fairly rare happening, not because there isn’t anyone out there on the same wavelength as yourself but because it sometimes relies on a chance meeting. This is exactly why being a member of an organisation can be the most effective way of increasing your chances of finding that design soul mate. Luckily for me I am a member of Colour Group GB which in turn is a member of Association of International Colour (AIC) who’s President is Berit Bergström  introduced me to Hosanna Yau an eminent logo designer based in Hong Kong – have a look at her logos, they are quite exceptional.

As you know, logo designers have the skill to distil information, pull out the vital parts and simplify the important elements in order to convey the ethos of a company while displaying it in a design that works over different mediums and scales. Sound easy?  Try coming up with a few logos and you will soon discover it is a very specific skill, and it is certainly not one that I have. So, when I added a small range of products to my existing colour consulting company, I branded them with the same name, unifiedspace. Hosanna immediately saw that while unifiedspace was a good name for the consulting side of my business, it was not the right name for a range of individually designed products. Correct. I already knew this but didn’t know how to move forward. So within a week, Hosanna absorbed the fairly random information I gave her and quite unnervingly, seemed to understand me better than I did myself! When she showed me the first logo I knew as soon as I saw it that it was perfect and was exactly what I wanted. So armed with a new logo and a brand name for my homewares I set about  making the changes – (new website here) and quickly discovered having the right logo has been like finding a key to open the design flood gates. I literally cannot stop designing and now have loads of new work ready to print onto various textiles. I’ve literally been chained to my desk, scared to stop incase the wave of inspiration slows down.

I’ve also been doing a lot of reading on human behaviour and neuropsychological  responses to colour which I defy anyone not to be totally gripped by. A riveting subject (wish I could do another degree…) and an area that is becoming increasingly important as it has been shown in numerous studies that colour does dictate our behaviour in the most dramatic ways so I hope to get down to posting a blog on about this soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you like my new ‘niki’ logo at the top of my page (Hosanna has hidden two smiling faces in it, some positive energy and several references to nature, perfect!)

Have you ever connected with someone who has been a catalyst for moving your work forward? What did they do for you?