Conceiving Brand through Logo Design

In designing the ARI logo, I had the humbling honour of working with a brilliant and generous team and I am grateful for the opportunity. Here I share a little of my thinking in the logo design process.

First, a journal "brand" must be conceived. The brand is not the logo, but what the logo promises—the attributes of some of the things the journal can offer. The brand is the journal's unique selling feature. The logo should be a reminder of these attributes. I was fortunate to know the work of the co-editors and examples of logos they liked helped me to see that they valued connectivity and overlap.

​I chose to use a turning wheel because it represents a dynamic team facilitating forward-thinking research in perpetual motion. The sum is greater than the parts. The wheel is interdisciplinary, unconventional, and part of the symbolic global. There is a peace sign in the logo representing support of social justice issues. The Venus symbol (circle substituted with iconic triangle dress) recalls feminist philosophies and sociology outlooks. The logo also alludes to Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian man’s widespread arms and legs to symbolize inclusion, harmony, and aesthetics in the journal’s brand.

​https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/ari/about/history