Getting Lost in the Drawing Experience

Back in the days of private school–a school that leaned heavily towards the arts–one of my first experiences in “getting lost” came to me by complete surprise and near disbelief. What I am referring to is getting lost in the work that you love. In this case and for me it was in drawing.

Running to the art studio, I arrived late for class. As I entered the room, my classmates were busy drawing the nude model in front of the room for this particular life drawing class. A little embarrassed at having not listened (again!) to the art instructor on the assignment for the day, I decided to just get started. Sitting with my right leg propped up on my left knee, my drawing pad on top, I got over the feeling of awkwardness I felt in looking at the whole scene before me and began to draw.

At first I began to draw the outline of the model, but soon realized I needed to get to the core of her posture. I began to sketch in a single, continuous line, over and over, never lifting my pencil off the paper, pouring over every undulating curve, capturing every nuance that best defined her essence, her being, her singularity.

And then it hit! The black hole that invariably sucks you in to some vacuous dimension where all your visual surroundings and sounds disappear from consciousness. And all that you know to exist are subject and drawing. I could then feel the curves with my eyes as they traversed their way across her shoulder. I could feel the rhythm of line meeting line, thick strokes, thin strokes mimicking shadow and light, my pencil lilting across the paper, and my hand orchestrating every movement as deftly as a conductor with his baton. In essence, I felt and heard the rise of the crescendos and the falls of the diminuendos. I was gloriously “lost”…until my right leg hit the floor.

THUD! My entire leg from hip to foot went to sleep and fell off my left knee and slammed into the floor. I couldn’t believe it! Never have I been so “lost” in anything that I was unaware one of my limbs was going numb to the extreme. I was really disturbed over this. I couldn’t make my leg do anything. I didn’t want to sit in any other position other than the one I already came out of, I was losing valuable drawing time, and I wanted to get back to that “lost” state–a kind of utopia or euphoria–because it was a place where I was hampered by nothing. I could follow the rhythms and hear the music created by the hand that held my pencil. This was a stunning revelation and experience that I realized I simply loved.

In all my years of drawing or illustrating I still get lost…effortlessly finding my way to that utopian place. And I love it. At times I have gone so deeply into the work that when I momentarily “come up for air,” I have no idea what day it is, who I am, where I am, how old I am, or even what year it is. Fact! I’m stunned that 4, 6, or 8 hours have gone by that felt like minutes. Ah…but this is part of the true drawing experience, an experience that flows out of passion and deep, deep concentration.

Have you had similar experiences? In drawing or in some other activity? What did you think of the experience? Did you repeat it? Send me a comment and we’ll share.

Kristen

Still, the logo’s identity would tend to elude you without the support of the name. By itself, given the number of logos with similar characteristics, the logo doesn’t carry enough variation to separate itself from the others. A logo should be distinctive enough to stand on its own—an original design. That said, let’s move ahead and take a look at the creative process of logo design.

The Evolution of a Logo

Displayed before you is a logo I designed for a surgeon who specializes in thoracic and vascular surgery.
The focus of the design is of an aorta and two sets of lungs. The three elements as a whole, have been incorporated as such in order to give them “equal billing.” The set of lungs suggests the dynamic effect of a breathing lung. Visual hierarchy and emphasis is created through the various percentages of a spot color and line weight. From an audience’s perspective, all that is seen is the end product…what appears on the surface. It seems simple enough. How hard can it be to draw those lines? From a designer’s perspective, it is far from simple. It is hours of ideation…exploring the regions of creativity that captivate our attention in our efforts to “give birth to new form.” Let’s go “behind the scenes” and take a look at some of the concepts and thinking that went into the final logo.

The images above are self-explanatory. Several other concepts were sketched out. But for the sake of simplicity, I’ve narrowed the numbers down. It was the last concept here that generated some excitement and interest. Based on this, further concepts were explored and implemented as follows:

Four more versions were drawn…and I emphasize drawn. As you can see below, the first two were out. The last two were up for revisions. The last one (his 1st choice) I suggested we go with and begin to refine, as the integration of all three elements (lungs and aorta) are clearly beginning to show individuality and strength.

This was the final drawing (left) used for computer rendering. Note the small changes made to the aorta
and the positioning of it within the lung outlines.

Computer renderings. The logos to the left were created to test out the color and line weight in order to achieve emphasis. Notice the subtle changes between each logo. The smaller logos were tested to see how well it reproduced on a business card. Any adjustments necessary at this stage were made. The one logo that is checked is the one that was selected for the final. This worked well in black & white too.

Even the small amount of information written here is enough to understand, or at least to begin to understand the amount of thought and work that go into the development of a logo. The decision to show emphasis and visual hierarchy was a conscious one; working out spacial relationships and proportion, striving to achieve balance are integral. These principles and more are so much a part of the creative process that they beg us to be challenged. Isn’t this one of the reasons why we chose to be in this profession?  Yes…and without refute.

So I have to ask…how challenging was it to produce those homogenous logos for the greater healthcare industry?

Kristen

About a year ago I was having a conversation with my doctor about a new logo he had purchased for his website. He briefly described the process of finding an online source who was reasonably priced, and in his words, “Someone from India.” Hmm! Shortly after that statement he said to me, “Oh! I could have gone to you for the logo.” Curious about the design of his new logo, I visited his website, only to be thoroughly disappointed given the seemingly rampant use of logos that bear the same likeness…especially within the healthcare industry. Which brings me to my point about logo distinction and the relevance of original design.

Can you pick out the logo for a national organization?

Looking at the series of logos above, all but one relate to the healthcare industry. I’ve included my doctor’s logo. Interestingly, five of them can be seen in and around the greater Cleveland area. One logo represents a product of a pharmaceutical company, and one is for a well known national organization. Can you pick out that organization’s logo? Chances are your decision of choice will not be an easy one. In fact, it will be challenging. Most people can’t pick it out at all.

Glancing at these as a whole, not one of these are distinct enough to jog the memory into identifying what business or organization a particular logo belongs to. These homogenous forms are the result of poor design involving no research. From my perspective, the constant reuse of elements and clip art, with a few tweaks here and there, open up the potential for copyright infringement. From a client’s perspective, settling for a “reasonable price” and quick turn around may be the easiest solution in getting a logo. However,
logos of this caliber not only have the potential for copyright infringement, they carry
the weight of possible plagiarism. Clearly, this is not an area anyone would want
to position themselves in. A logo should be distinguishable among the clutter and identifiable as to who that logo is affiliated with.

As a true professional, I have developed real partnerships with clients based on trust and respect, with a vested interest in who they are, what they want to accomplish, and how to get there. It involves listening to a client…and listening well. It involves taking the time necessary for research, development, and revisions to a logo that best match the goals of the client, all the while delving deep into the creative thinking, and good design sense essential for capturing a design that commands presence…a logo of distinction…a logo of original design.

Next Post

Coming up… I will show an original logo of one of my client’s, and the process involved to get to the final product. In the meantime, see if you can determine which of the logos above is a well known national organization. I will reveal the answer in my next post.

What’s your opinion of the widespread use of homogeneous logos?

Kristen