case study one: Plimsoll Press

I'm interested in the creative process... how we get from design idea to design implementation. A current school assignment is to design a logo for a fictional company called Plimsoll Press. This company publishes limited edition naval history and navigation books and charts.

First I did some research and learned that the Plimsoll Mark, developed in the 1860s, is a circle with a line drawn through it, placed on a ship's hull, to show the maximum draft a ship may load to. It is named after Samuel Plimsoll, a British MP who was concerned about the loss of life caused by ship overloading. You can learn more here if you're interested.

This is what the Plimsoll Mark looks like.

So, now that I know what a Plimsoll Mark is, it's time to take out the sketch book. Hmmm... what makes me think marine publishing? Whales. Sea monsters. Compasses. Anchors. Sailing ships. Buoys and ocean markers. Is it too literal to portray a Plimsoll Mark? Here are some of my sketches.

Drawing is NOT one of my talents, but I do find that quick sketches are the quickest way to capture ideas. I did about 60 sketches for this project.

Now it's time to move to roughs.

What about seagulls?  Maybe a bit too safe. Kind of expected, right?

How about sails? And this plays off the fact that the navigation flag for "P" is a blue rectangle with a white rectangle inset.

I like it, but it's going to have to be expertly executed for it to work. Angles matching up, thickness of lines, etc.

OK, then, how about sailing ships? And maybe a bit of a play on the Plimsoll Mark?

This would be really hard to reproduce in a small size and still be legible!

Maybe back to the sea monster idea...

Nah, more suitable for a children's book publisher, I think.

OK, then, let's look at a literal interpretation of "Plimsoll" ... 

Now this one I like. It's got the Plimsoll Mark. It's got a logical place for the company descriptor. But it's lacking energy. What can I do to improve it?

I've used the Plimsoll Mark in a more dynamic fashion, moving it through and down the logo to add energy. I've used colour to bring focus to that energy. And I've chosen a typeface (Rockwell) that I think adds some substance. 

I've still got some tightening up to do, obviously, particularly with proportions, but I'm pleased overall with the progress. I'll let you know how it turns out.