Rebranding Yourself

After years of using the same monogram as a sort of signature, the time came for it to change. 

The process is... tantalizing. How do you give up something that has been a part of you for so long? At the same time you know deep down that it is time. The "symbol" is no longer quite right. You have changed, evolved and it is time your identification mark reflects that.

So you start. Hesitantly at first. What do I like about my current symbol? What can I keep? What needs to change?

For me the overall shape had to change. I first designed that when I was 16 years old. Using an open heart shape to represent the letter "M" was inspired by a childhood favorite animated character and the way her name had been illustrated (Musa from the Winx Club animated series, for those who know it). Back then, for me, the heart and the curves of the design reflected a softness and a fluidity - things that I associated with my personality. It also had a subtle reference to calligraphy, which I was trying to learn. The colors of the original mark were shades of blue, another thing linked to me. An inside joke originated by my friends and a detail I might want to keep.

But what I realised is that, this symbol showed aspects of my character that even though they still exist, they might not be as prominent as the used to be. More importantly it got me thinking about what I wanted this new symbol to reflect now. 

Something elegant, bold, simple, modern, structured. 

These attributes were important to me. Not only do they align more with who I am today, but also with my design style. 

So I started experimenting, first by sketching out some thoughts on paper. To no one's surprise I'm sure, my first tries were very similar to the old design. Obviously. It still meant a lot to me, so "getting rid" of it felt wrong. But slowly the sketches changed. Using a grid, I started drawing more straight lines, abandoning the curves that I so like. Sketching out the letters and then breaking them down to distinct lines helped a lot.

My next step was to start working on a computer. I picked three of my top six designs (some of them still with curves, emmulating calligraphy) and started experimenting with some fonts that I like. I must have started out with a dozen fonts. Slowly I mixed the two, i.e. the sketches with the existing fonts and created a series of new ideas. Some of them practically ridiculous. 

Again I went through a process of elimination. Out of all my attempts, which ones did I like the most? I picked three and then I promptly reached out to some friends and asked their opinions, while letting them know my preferences. From them I received some feedback and went back to implementimg some that I agreed with. At some point I reached a place where I was almost done but I thought it needed to be tweaked a bit more. As luck would have it, that day I was at the library of the college I had graduated from, and came across one of my teachers. After seeing my design and talking to me a bit, he gave me a few pointers that ultimately helped me get unstuck. 

So this is my final design. A new signature that reflects my style and current personality. A mixture of bold and delicate, severe and playful. As a final detail, and because I'm just a bit indecisive, I also made it in blue to keep the small inside joke going. 

This was it. My little journey to rebranding myself, my signature, came to an end. I hope you enjoyed this small trip and that you managed to takeaway something from it.