Interview With Josh Hayes
Q:Where did the idea for this logo come from?
Early on in the brief, I thought is was paramount that some kind of stove/oven element needed to be incorporated into the design. Originally a gas-burning hotplate was being sketched out, after deeper research I moved onto electric grills & the curvaceous design of their heating elements. From there, the M monogram was born.
Q:What application did you use to design this logo? E.g., Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator CS3, contrary to popular belief this was created using the pen tool or stroke/outline elements – It was construct using vector geometrics…rectangles & circles.
Q:What was your design process for this logo? I.e., Did you start out with pen and paper then move to the computer?
Lots of sketching, after I got the rough version down, I pulled out the set-squares, compass & protractor to look up a final rendering. After that, it was a simple method of duplicating the result in vector.
Q:What font(s) were used in the logo?
Proxima Nova Bold, varying X-heights.
Q:How did you choose the color scheme for the logo?
Color scheme was obvious; orange for an active grill column, black for the stylistic choice of contemporary cookware & appliances – as well as teflon & chargrilling, grey for smooth steel & contrast amongst the black & orange.
Q:Do you have any sketches of the logo in the early stages?
Part of my presentation involved displaying how the logo could be animated, here is a singular frame from the animatic. As you see, the element coil is warming up from left to right.
Q:How long did it take to complete the logo?
Moderately quick, most of my time was in the sketching phase, I’d say about 2-3 weeks from opening brief to sign-off.
Q:What do you feel was your biggest challenge in designing the logo?
The biggest challenge was subtlety i.e. Do I make the element obvious & M the ‘easter egg’ or vice-versa? I like to think I found the happy medium.
Q:Now that the logo is finished, is there anything you would change about it?
Typographically, the logo has been changed x3 times now; The original design wasn’t stacked, type was on the right of the mark (like a banner). The type treatment is now in its final phase. As for the mark, I’ve never changed a thing.
More Designs From Josh Hayes
Logo Inspiration by Color
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