John Welsh, Graphic Design

Project Statement

My Personal Identity represents who I am. Growing up in Minnesota I draw a lot of inspiration from my upbringing, the culture, and symbols that represent the Midwest and specifically, Minnesota. The identity mark that I designed represents the state bird of Minnesota, the loon. The body of the bird being portrayed through a large winged “W” that references my last name Welsh. The shape was designed to show the figure of the bird as it is in the motion of diving down. The red eye seen below the figure is a way to draw back into the loon that is famous for its red eye. As well as the loon being the state bird of my birth, it also symbolizes harmony, tranquility, and primarily resides on the water. Being a person who is comfortable and draws energy from being alone I see myself in this bird that spends a lot of time alone. In addition, I strive to be calm and tranquil in my everyday life in order to not stress or worry about situations that are out of my control. These qualities all draw into why I chose to represent the loon figure in my logo.

In the stationery I drew inspiration from water and colors from the loon. The blues symbolize the depth of water and the loon diving into the water where they do their hunting. I connect with water because I go with the flow and can adapt to whatever situation I am thrown into. In addition, the colors work to show contrast in the design by reflecting off the light background. These elements of water influence the movement of the logo showing the loon diving into the water. Hypatia Sans Pro, the type choice for this design, was chosen because it is a clean, sans serif typeface that influences the body of the loon in the shape of the W. Hierarchy is seen in this design through different styles of this typeface as well as varying sizes.