Solving Problems
-Identifying The Problem-
"Think of the farmer who brands his cattle to mark his ownership, or the stonemason who proudly chisels his trademark" (Airey, 2015, chap. 2, para 8).
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No, a logo is not a brand, but it is the necessary signature of the brand which Reykjavík Iceland needs to drive tourism.
Reykjavík Iceland is truly an amazing place, but, as the world’s northmost capital, just 2° south of the arctic circle, it’s not necessarily one that is generally thought of as a hot tourist destination. To that end, the problem at hand is the necessity of a strong place brand to drive tourism. One piece of that brand puzzle is the creation of a strong logo. As laid out by David Airey, a logo in-of-itself does not a brand make, but a brand without a logo is like a person without a face (Airey, 2015).
In the case of Reykjavik, the endeavor to find this logo began by dividing the research into the three categories of geography, traditions, and modern culture.
To help facilitate the creative thought process, it became necessary to try and develop a top-down view of the task through mind maps. A mind map is a method of getting a large amount of information down onto a page which, according to Raphaela Brandner, can “display hierarchy, show relationships between individual ideas and enable you to see the big picture at a glance” (Brandner, n.d., para. 4). By using these mind maps, it became easier to home in on usable ideas for preliminary Sketches.
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In terms of Geography, Lonely Planet points out that Reykjavík is a coastal city surrounded by mountains, fjords, icebergs, geysers, black sand beaches, and volcanos (Lonely Planet, 2019). The sketches created for this category are meant to capture the rugged, remote, and awe-inspiring spirit of that landscape.
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Turning then to traditions, Reykjavík is a fairly colorful place, starting with Vikings. According to Joshua Mark, writing for Ancient History Encyclopedia, Vikings settled the region around 870 BCE and, given that the area had no indigenous population, stuck around (Mark, 2019). Along with all of the traditions inherent to paganism brought by the Vikings, Reykjavik also has deep ties to Christianity, with what Iceland Magazine refers to as a balance between the two (Iceland Magazine, 2018). Not to mention, vibrant folklore including Fylgjur, which Friesen describes as spirit animal guardians (Friesen, 2015). Nothing, though, is more important to the tradition of Reykjavík than the ocean itself. According to the Reykjavík Maritime museum the city has relied on the ocean for survival for as long as there have been people there (Reykjavík Maritime Museum, n.d.). The Sketches in this category tried to embody those ideas.
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Moving then to modern culture, Visit Reykjavík points to a whole host of live theatre, music, and dance. Not to mention restaurants and bars (Visit Reykjavik, 2013). Writing for Culture Trip Camille Buckley also points out the city’s numerous museums and art galleries (Buckley, 2017). With all of that in mind, it’s certainly not difficult to stay entertained in Reykjavik. The sketches in this category are meant to latch onto the very real vibrancy of the city.
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All things being considered, several of the sketches produced in all three categories do have some merit, but ultimately the problem of finding the signature, the face, of the band remains to be solved.
-Revising Possibilities-
"A revision is simply meant to be a slight modification or course correction to progress toward the final design" (Balkon, 2013, para. 3).
In the case of Reykjavík, there were nine sketches that had potential, but, ultimately, needed just a little tweaking before they could be considered actual contenders.
In terms of viable logo ideas for Reykjavík, there were three sketches from each category that were chosen for their strong connection back to the previously mentioned concepts and themes found during the initial research.
For geography, trying to connect back to that rugged beauty, sketches one, three, and twenty-two were chosen.
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Turning to tradition, attempting to capture the spirit of the city’s history, sketches six, eight, and nineteen were selected.
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Finally, for Modern culture, striving to embody the vibrancy of the modern city, sketches twelve, sixteen, and twenty-four were chosen.
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Each of the nine sketches were then revised to better adhere to what Jacob Cass refers to as the principles of effective logo design in that they were made to be simple, memorable, timeless, versatile, and appropriate (Cass, 2009). Unnecessary elements were removed, visual structural soundness was ensured, and an effort was made to ensure that there were no elements included that may date the logo or prohibit its use in the future.
Still not having found the ultimate answer though, one sketch from each was again refined, digitized, and colored.
For Geography, A single monolithic mountain rises above what can be seen as either rolling hills or waves with clean modern text. While this logo is, ultimately, only single color, aside from the black or white version, there are also blue and orange versions. Each of the colors was chosen based on emotional connections as laid out by Will Erstad in The Graphic Designer’s Guide to The Psychology of Color, with blue being calming, serene and peaceful, and orange being enthusiastic and warm (Estrad, 2018). Each of these colors also readily tie the colors of the actual landscape.
For Tradition, A logo featuring rolling waves and text meant to feel old-world was chosen. As previously stated, the ocean has always been wildly important to Reykjavík, which makes this a natural choice to move forward. The logo has also been given a treatment to make appear aged by time and waves. The color of the waves is a deep blue which, again referring to Estrad, is tied to the iciness of the water (Estrad, 2018) and is grounded by a warm brown color for the text.
Trying to nail down a logo that truly embodies the modern culture of Reykjavík is somewhat difficult. Ultimately though the dancer form was chosen both for its connection to the Iceland Dance Company and, as stated by Deanna deBara, “movement makes for more dynamic images” (deBara, n.d., para.12). The colors of red and yellow were chosen as, according to Cameron Chapman, they are vibrant, passionate, and energizing (Chapman, 2010).
-End Solution-
"How can these simple, trivial little artworks inspire global familiarity... Because they’re not trivial or simple" (Hillsberg & Sibbet, 2014, para. 1).
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The Final logo, the signature, the face of Reykjavík Iceland is the rolling waves.
Between the city’s Viking heritage and the fact that it has always relied on the ocean for sustenance, there is no denying that the beating heart of Reykjavík is the ocean. That tied the fact that, according to FreeLogoServices, water symbolizes dynamism, fluidity, purification, stability, and change (FreeLogoServices, 2019, para. 11) makes rolling waves the perfect choice for the city’s logo. Like all cities, Reykjavík is ever culturally evolving and the possibilities awaiting visitors are endless as the Ocean.
References
Airey, D. (2015). Logo design love: A guide to creating iconic brand identities. Berkeley, California: New Riders.
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Balkon, M. (2013, January 16). What Is A Design Revision. Retrieved from
https://strongdesign.co/what-is-a-design-revision/.
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Brandner, R. (n.d.) Why Mind Mapping. Retrieved from
https://www.mindmeister.com/blog/why-mind-mapping/.
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Buckley, C. (2017, June 28). A Tour of Contemporary Architectural Landmarks in Reykjavik. Retrieved from
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Cass, J. (2009 July 27). 5 Principles of Effective Logo Design. Retrieved from
https://justcreative.com/2009/07/27/what-makes-a-good-logo/.
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Chapman, C. (2010, January 28). Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color. Retrieved from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/.
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deBara, D. (n.d.). How To Create Movement In Design. Retrieved from
https://www.canva.com/learn/how-to-create-movement-in-design/.
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Estrad, W. (2018, January 17). The Graphic Designer’s Guide To The Psychology. Retrieved from
https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/design/blog/psychology-of-color/.
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FreeLogoServices. (2019, July 9). The Meaning Behind Shapes in Logo Design. Retrieved from
https://www.freelogoservices.com/blog/2019/07/09/shapes-in-logo-design/.
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Friesen, W. (2015). Family Resemblances: Textual Sources of Animal Fylgjur in Icelandic Saga. Scandinavian Studies. Retrieved from https://doiorg.oclc.fullsai-l.edu/10.1353/scd.20-15.0011.
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Hillsberg, A., Sibbit, C. (2014, April 12). The Emotional Power of Logos. Retrieved from
https://somebodymarketing.com/logos/emotional-power-of-logos/.
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Iceland Magazine. (2018, October 17). Ásatrú, the old Norse Paganism is The Fastest Growing and Largest Non-Christian Religion in Iceland. Retrieved From https://icelandmag.is/art-icle/asatru-old-norse-paganism-fastest-growing-and-largest-non-christian-religion-iceland.
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Lonely Planet. (2019). Activities in Reykjavík, Iceland. Retrieved from
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/iceland/reykjavik/activities/a/pa-act/359560.
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Mark, J. (2019, January 17). The Vikings in Iceland. Retrieved from
https://www.ancient.eu/arti cle/1310/the-vikings-in-iceland/.
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Reykjavík Maritime Museum. (n.d.) The History of The Museum. Retrieved from
https://reykjavikcitymuseum.is/reykjavik- maritime-museum/about.
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Visit Reykjavik. (2013, July 6). Reykjavik Arts & Culture. Retrieved from