Introducing my Blog Logo

Presenting my super, awesome, fabulous logo:

My logo was designed by the lovely Ms. Nicole Bell who is a multi-talented graphic designer as well as a photographer, artist, and crafter. She also spent 9 months in the womb with me ;-) She collaborated with me on the design of my one of a kind logo for my one of a kind blog! I wanted something that reflected modern architecture as well as old Southern charm with a vintage twist. I really think if reflects my personality well because captures my feminine energy as well as the essence of my career.

For the logo, we took some inspiration from late 1800s hand drafting.

This reference image below, by the School of Architecture at the University of Texas' earliest issue of Southern Architect, 1892 demonstrates some expert hand lettering techniques. I love how the name of this publication reflects the name of my blog! I like the asymmetry of this reference as well as the hand drawn lettering, but it is a bit old fashion and fussy...

This reference image below, by Luke and Jules Vintage Typography Logo, 1885 demonstrates some beautiful line weights and intricate details. I liked this reference because of the contrasting fonts and the filigree that infills the voids, but it is too symmetric and masculine...

I really like how we took inspiration from these vintage references, but made it completely new and modern:

I choose the a timeless grey and and my favorite color green as the colors.

For the capital letters S and A, we choose Fusty Saddle which I would describe as a southern antique font (this font is free for personal use, and a donation must be made for commercial use). Nicole suggested this font and I think it gives off a little southern vintage flair.

For the letters OUTHERN, we choose Sketch Block  which is a sketchy handwritten font (this font is free for personal use, and the professional version must be purchased for commercial use). I wanted something that looked hand drafted and I am loving the diagonal hatching.

For the letters RCHITECTRESS, we choose Janda Stylish Script which is a cursive scripty font (this font is free for personal use, and a donation must be made for commercial use). Nicole suggested it and I like it because it gives a feminine edge and is very crisp in contrast to the other hand drawn choices.

For the tag line at the bottom, we choose Futura Lt BT which is a modern type face (this font is free and doesn't need a commercial licence). This is a timeless font that is a favorite of Nicole's and with all the other fussiness going on with the rest of the fonts, we needed some clean lines.

The design to the right of the lettering is a corbel shape. I suggested to Nicole to include an architectural form, like a roof line, column, or corbel. She came up with this lovely abstraction which hints to architecture but is not a historical cliche'.

All of these elements are neatly composed together:

There were many, many versions of the logo and it was a long process before we got it perfecto! But it was so worth it and I just love it! Thanks Nicole!