[Design] Logo_Spinel

This was one of my first commissions in terms of design. Until then, there were a couple of friends who asked me to draw specific drawings every once in a while but never had anyone commissioned me for a logo for clothes. That was until one day in March 2019, Lim, a classmate, asked me to create a design for her chemistry club, Spinel.

Funnily enough, I was well acquainted with Spinel, more than one could imagine. Even though I was a humanities major to everyone’s knowledge, I had a dream of a scientist during middle school, and thus studied a lot of chemistry and physics in various institutions and camps. I mean, I even passed the KMLA entrance exam as a chem student! But unfortunately, I had lost the grip of it during gap year, the rigorous members of Spinel didn’t want me, and I failed to be one of them.

When Lim approached me with such a matter, I was surprised at myself at how ‘un-salty’ I was. I’ve always thought of myself as someone with ‘salt:’ one who never forgets, and tries to get back. But surprisingly, I was glad not only that I could become, at least, a pseudo-member of Spinel by designing the logo, but also that Lim recognized my skills and gave me her trust.

The drawing on the left was the original design: it depicted a single electron, spinning around the nucleus that — for some reason — had safety goggles one. Personally, I thought — and I still think — that this was the best design: clean, simple, and straight forward. However, there were complaints that it looked like a planet and a moon, rather than an atom. Thus, I decided to add more orbiting electrons, and the design on the right was selected.

Technique-wise, this was created using a program called ‘Autodesk Sketchbook.’ It’s originally a tool for drawing, rather than logo design and vector arts. However, I was unacquainted with Illustrator back then, and I had to use what I had in reach. One problem was that the drawing was very hazy since it was pixel-based. Luckily, Lim used photoshop to get rid of those faults and successfully created beautiful t-shirts. Now, once in a while, I see students wearing the t-shirts on which my logo proudly boasts, and I feel a sense of pride :)