PURPLE GLOW MAG

LOGO

The logo is a light abstraction of the initials of the magazine into a distinct paperclip form. The Paperclip incorporates a "6" into its form as a nod to Toronto, where the magazine is based. The logotype is a slightly modified from Gilroy Extra Bold. Tests were done with assets pulled from Purple Glow Mag's existing content to test the style. Once the logo was complete, a suggested guide for spacing was created and sent alongside the logo. Initial sketches were drawn in Procreate, and proceeded to Designer after a direction was starting to form.

Initial thumbnail sketches were drawn in Procreate to establish a direction. The most significant branches were based on the initials, pure logotypes, and some variations on the numbers 5 and 6 ("The 6ix" being a popular nickname for the city). Hints at Toronto were always a core part of the design. Some of these hints were based off of 5-sided flowers (representing the 5 neighbourhoods of Toronto) while others were based off the 6.

It was clear by this point that a form incorporating the initials PG was the way we were heading in. The content could shine through while keeping a distinct look.

However, I wanted to avoid making the logo too literal and infuse more poetic depth into the design. There was nothing in the current design to tie the logo to its Toronto roots. So, I connected the stem of the 'p' to the hook of the 'g' to create a '6'; then added curves to delineate the forms of the 'p' and 'g' glyphs within the '6'. This resulted in a pleasingly simple paperclip form that was chosen for the final logo.

Now that the logo was tentatively complete, it needed to be tested. But first, a logotype also had to be created to go with it. Gilroy Extra Bold was chosen for how its modern geometric glyphs complement the simple form of the logo. The pairing was tested together to make sure it adhered to the vibe that the magazine was aiming for. The logotype would be adjusted later to clean up its form.

The logotype would be adjusted later to clean up its form. Tracking was wound tighter to create a more solid look. The hook of the 'r' lowered so that it could flow into the stem of the p.

A variant was made with a cut in the logo to imitate how a paperclip is occluded by the paper it is attached to. In the end, we went with the uncut version of the logo.

Final choices in colour were made at the end. Although most of the concepts had gone with a cooler shade of purple, the client decided that a warmer purple was a better choice for the magazine.

Lastly, a simple spacing guide was created for the logo.

VIDEO THUMBNAILS

Following earlier experiments with the logo (below), I was tasked with creating a thumbnail template for videos with the logo for use in podcasts and other video media. A template was created with the chosen purple paired with different blend modes to help the thumbnails stand out.

THUMBNAIL BLEND MODE TESTS

WEBSITE MOCKUPS

Mockups made for a potential future version of the website. Mobile and Desktop versions were made to test the theme and look of the site.