Background
Since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to have a nice signature or logo of my own, using my initials. I would spend so much time in school scribbling on paper, on covers, on tables, practicing my signature. I had grand ideas for a logo; however, at 10, I wasn’t able to quite get it the way I wanted it to be. At 37, someone dared me to finish a project I couldn’t finish as a child, and I’m really happy I did.
Handwriting
There were three things to accomplish with the logo:
- It had to include the letters “L” and “S” to symbolize my first and last name.
- It had to be in a handwriting style, but with a broad way of interpretation.
- It had to be able to stand alone as a beautiful icon but also make someone go “aha, I see it” if in combination with my name.
Initially, I started the project by doing a lot of the same doodling I had done as a child, trying variations and ultimately putting them into Illustrator to start testing. Additionally, I used Adobe’s new A.I. tools to experiment with variation until I ultimately came to a logo very close to the final product.
Variations
After testing different looks and colors, I ultimately came to two variations that I was very happy with: a red and blue version, symbolizing the Dutch flag and connecting with my Dutch heritage, and a green and blue version, signifying my favorite colors together.
Reflections
It’s not lost on me that I am privileged to have made my hobby my work, and it’s always such a joy to be able to work on projects that connect my identity but also my history, and in a way brings it to the present. This project was a great example of not discounting your childhood ideas; just because you don’t yet have the marksmanship to create it yourself does not mean it was a bad idea.
