We met at a Barista cafe where I was expecting another self-bragging client who would ask me conjure up a logo that is already in his mind. But when I met I Sahil that day, I realized that designing the logo for him is going to be different because he was ready to give me the space to present something different and out of the box. That is the way I like to work!
The brief I had to work with was, “I want it to convey a sense of freedom, happiness when DeskAway simplifies teamwork. Something like a work-life balance.”
That night (well, being a designer, my mind works better at night!) I thought about the name “DeskAway” which seemed to be very graphic by itself. What came to my head first was some office desk that is now broken because it is no more needed. But as a rule of thumb, the thought that comes to me first, is not worth deliberating upon because any random brain can come up with the 1st thought! I knew I had to think much deeper. My brain went into the hyper mode. I was flooded with ideas, many weird ones too! Take for example the desk being invisible (a good idea right! Here are some of my other initial, but still very common thoughts…
Let me cut across to 2 nights before presentation. I looked at all the options…they were good, but not OUTSTANDING! They were all in sync with what he expected. That was the exact problem! My ‘touch’ was missing. I wanted to show him not what he wanted to see, but something which he never expected me to come up with! All throughout, I was trying to shoo the ‘desk’ away. I tried breaking it, showing an arrow and even making it fly away. But now I realised that the desk is not to be hanged, in fact, it has to be immortalised because you are not leaving the desk…the desk is following you wherever you go. Now I knew I had hit the bullseye! If you try to get into a designer’s mind you will realise that designers and philosophers are very similar. All they do is look at the world as it is but still interpret and express it in a completely different style!
Now that the desk is ‘away’ with me, I can be anywhere: in the sky, in some scenic place, in a pub, under the sea or even on a beach. So, I decided incorporate all these places in the desk. Presto! The identity was invented!
The identity which would grow and change with time. It will not bind the company to a single symbol but it will be dynamic and fresh, which is exactly what a young company required. Not a ‘logo’ but a ‘holo’.
So it was the D-Day now. I had to present Sahil the options I had prepared.
I personally loved the ‘holo’, but was too nervous to present and recommend it outright. That is why I presented the ‘holo’ last. As a caution, I told him not to freak out after looking at this one as it may look little weird. When he saw it, he stared at it for awhile, his expression not revealing what he was thinking. Suddenly he remarked, “I like it.” Such a huge relief! I was so happy that he took an effort to appreciate and accept something new! Though when I presented it, the ‘holo’ was just an idea.. it clicked pretty well. After tweaking the desk shape and images a little, you can see the product at the top of this page! Sahil was in favour of using the ‘orange and blue’ look that was consistent with the old logo which was made the base logo. The others will change with the situation.
We think it gives a feeling of being ‘elevated, zen like and in control.’
- Foram Shah (4am.shah@gmail.com)
