Logo
I knew I wanted to make a logo for my “brand” (I absolutely hate that term, but it’s the only thing that works), but I wasn’t really too sure if I wanted to go the professional route or not. I mean, I didn’t even have a real idea on what I wanted to have in my logo yet. In the end, everything had to center around MS. I started by crudely drawing my first ideas with a pencil and paper to at least get the creative juices flowing.
I’m by no means an artist, but I at least had something with which to work and build upon. You can see in my notes that I wasn’t sold on the carpenter’s squares for the “M” part yet (chisels and screwdrivers were in the running). The “S”, on the other hand, was an absolute no-brainer, though.
I liked the way it looked, but I wanted something a little bit more in there. I asked Lisa for her thoughts on the logo and she brought up the idea of having the “MS” inside of a picture frame...BRILLIANT!!! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that in the first place.
Having the picture frame opened up more opportunities to add design elements and colors. As you can see, I added the letters “USAF” to the corners of the frame (Air Force proud, baby) and would make them Air Force blue. By adding a mat around the border of the frame, I could utilize the colors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Now we’re cookin’ with gas!!!
Help Wanted (and needed)
After thinking about it a bit, I decided that I wanted to finish the process and complete the logo entirely on my own. I tried to find some free software that I could use to start sketching out my logo. My search was complicated a little by the fact that my main computer is running Ubuntu Linux (UPDATE: I switched back to Windows in September 2021). I have a virtual machine (VM) on my Linux computer with Windows installed, but I wasn’t sure how processor intensive any programs would be, especially trying to run it on a VM. Luckily, I came across the program Inkscape on my search for freeware for graphic design. They had a version for both Windows AND Ubuntu Linux. This was a bonus. I downloaded and installed Inkscape to my Linux computer and I was on my way...well, not exactly.
I hadn’t the first clue on what the heck I was doing with this program. Thankfully, the amount of reference material available on YouTube is astounding. I found a channel by TJ FREE that had an Inkscape tutorial with a few dozen videos that started from the most basic operations all the way to more complex designs. PERFECT!!! I dove in with the basics and quickly was able to start making basic shapes and designs. In no time I was on my way to getting my logo started.
It was all coming together. I had the picture frame image, with the mat and “inlay” lettering in the corners, done. Now I needed to tie my name into the whole thing. That was the easiest part of all. Long before I started thinking about documenting any of my work, I had always had the name “Mike’s MS Woodworking” in the back of my mind. I just needed to put ‘Mike’s’ at the top of the picture frame, and ‘Woodworking’ on the bottom, with the MS design in the middle...Mike’s MS Woodworking. BRILLIANT!!! That settled it. I finished everything up and showed Lisa to get her opinion. She loved it.
I was all set with my logo, or so I thought. When I started my Instagram account, I wanted to have my logo as my profile picture, naturally. The only problem is that the profile pictures are all circular, and my rectangular logo wouldn’t work. I tried it at first but it would be cut off on the corners of the frame. I had to figure out a way to make a circular logo that carried the same information as my original image. I decided that I would use the USAF blue as the background of the circle. Mike’s Woodworking would be moved out of the picture frame and into the background, with a change in font color from black to white. Everything else could remain the same. I tried it out on Instagram and I was satisfied with the results, and it’s stuck ever since.
I still prefer my original logo with just the picture frame, so I use that for most other things, including my e-mail signature block. If I should do any kind of merchandising with my logo in the future, I’ll probably stick with the original. But who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind on that. That’s something I don’t see happening any time in the near future.
