Simple is ****ing Hard:
Inside the actual process of reimagining a logo
“Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.”
—Paul Rand
Our company, Density outgrew its original identity.
As designers it’s our job to identify that shift and push our teams to reconsider their most public symbol — the thing people recognize and remember; the mark we wear; the identity we proudly share.
Density’s initial technology involved WiFi. It was fitting then that this was our original mark.
There were two reasons we needed to revisit our identity.
- Density’s core technology was no longer WiFi
- Our mark ought to illustrate our purpose, not just our technology
Density measures the movement of people in a city; more specifically, ingress and egress to popular places (entrances and exits).
Armed with enthusiasm and a more mature sense of self… we went down the rabbit hole. A finished mark is always nice to consider and discuss but I thought it would be cool to show you the painstaking process, as well.
Logo Exploration
The process is almost more important than the result. It took many hours and a lot of wrong turns.
After roughly two weeks of drafting and presenting, we found our new logo.
Note
Presentation is really important. As designers we must be able to tell a story as to why a certain solution will work. The rest of the team was unaware of this extensive brain-dump until after we landed on our final mark. Less than five percent of the ideation was worthy of showing to the team; however, each mark that made the cut was properly presented both visually and verbally with a strong supporting argument. If you truly believe you’ve found a solution to a problem then be prepared to sell it.
We call our new mark, the Ingress.
It’s derived from a revolving door. Which is both powered by people and a simultaneous ingress/egress.
We’re thrilled to wear this, to print and publish it, and announce it here, today.
Oh and a bonus… our new mark isn’t too far off from the Chinese character (人 — rén), which translates to “people.”
To learn more about Density, visit: www.density.io
Download the iOS app here.
