Personal id / Portfolio Update - part 1 of 6: “Living Logo” design

My little Nefelibata! (cloud walker)

…step two: Typeface design! 

Personal id / Portfolio Update - Part 1 of 6

 

HELLO! I haven’t posted new work in a while, but for good reason! I’m in the process of revamping my portfolio, personal id and this website. I’m also thinking about merging this blog with my inspiration blog, as well, but I’m not sure yet. One thing at a time!!!

The first step in this process, for me, is revisiting and rethinking the design of my personal mark- the little guy at the top of the screen that’s been serving as my header image and my alter ego for about five years now. :) (note to self: he needs name) but anywho… 

I’m not quite finished redesigning the little guy, but getting close. The curvature of the feet and the twisted contortions of the right hand, still need some work. Once I address these problems, my new and improved little friend, will take his place as the center of all that is artsy and fartsy in my fledgling design career!

“Image is King, the essence of this image, the logo, is a jewel in it’s crown.” - Paul Rand   

In the same way that Disney’s Mickey Mouse, or Studio Ghibli’s Totoro, serve as both mascot and corporate mark, my intent is to design a “living logo- A mark with a personality and back story. I wanted to create an icon that not only serves as my brand id, but also acts as an extension of who I am as a person- the visualization of my personal life philosophy, as well as a representation of my approach to design, my style as an illustrator and as an artist, overall.

The next two phases (steps two & three) after my little guy is completed, will be to build a style sheet. I need to decide which typefaces, colors, and logo variants I will use for my personal id and portfolio. Step four will be the revision of my artists statement. Step five will be the design of my portfolio, followed by the final phase, step six, which is rebuilding my website. I will be purchasing a new domain name and web hosting, thus  all of my work will migrate there upon completion. I also opened a Behance account, so feel free to check that out too!

Be Well! :-D 

☁ ☂ ✒▲

"Every artist, no matter the medium, should inherently be a storyteller."

☁

"Design is part of the popular culture. It is both a slave to the culture and a leader of the culture; it serves both roles, but as a cult, it’s a cult for those who follow it. There is a certain litany of design, a liturgy of design, there’s certain rituals of design, whether it’s certain typefaces or certain grids, or the use of imagery. We follow certain rituals that are called styles, and styles are the repetition of things that have become part of a canon or a vocabulary, that we have, that because they’re repeated over and over again, there’s a cultish quality to them. We also, as designers, kind of bow to the same gods, and therein lies a cult as well. I don’t think it’s either good or bad, its just what we do."

Steven Heller

Client: Doxa Church

Job: Promotional Posters

"It’s not in the vulgar, it’s not in the shock that one finds art. And it’s not in the excessively beautiful. It’s in between; it’s in nuance."

DUANE MICHALS

Client: CERRA (Center for Educator Recruitment Retention & Advancement)

Job: conference booklet

Client: CERRA (Center of Educator Recruitment Retention & Advancement) & Limestone College

Job: conference booklet

"Don’t let my brilliant & amiable disposition fool you in to thinking that I’m anything but young, dumb and full of ideas."

▲ ✒ ☁ ☂

— Daydreamer (Self Portrait #2) & Alternate —

illustration

27 x 40

© Jordan Manigo/Yarad 2012

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To me, this little guy has always been a manifestation of how I see myself on the inside. He’s a reflection of my confidence, my surrealist sensibilities, my nostalgic and outré personality, and most importantly, my imagination — a self portrait and a visual story of how art has always been a shelter from the more unpleasant aspects of my life. (represented by the umbrella that protects him from rain)

I’d like to think that, as he has grown and developed, so have I, as a man, and as an artist. ▲✒☁ ☂

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Suggested listening: Karen O and The Kids - Hideaway

…that song really inspired this piece.