For my logo, I wanted my company name to inspire the design in order to establish a clear connection between the art and the brand ethos. I associate books with learning, knowledge, and wisdom. These traits made me think of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena.

I was initially inspired to make a graphic illustration of Athena’s face for the logo, but after our lectures, I realized that scalability would be an issue. Instead, I modeled my logo after the Parthenon, which happens to be dedicated to Athena herself.

The Parthenon does not look exactly like my logo, but this was intentional. I think that the term Athenian should refer to all things masterful about Greek culture, and the Parthenon is just one achievement among many. A graphic meant to convey a wide message should not limit itself to one specific interpretation. I wanted the design to feel Athenian without being too overt.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with how this turned out. I made some sketches, but once I had the basic outline for the logo, I went ahead and dove into Illustrator. I knew that a lot of the nuance and aesthetic value of the logo would really only show itself once I started to create it digitally. The 3D look of the columns was the biggest hurdle I faced when making the design. Creating this effect only occurred to me once I started working in Illustrator. I think it is one of my design’s more eye catching elements.

This project taught me a lot about what makes logos great. In particular, I am walking away from this with a better understanding of scalability and simplicity in logo design. I will carry this knowledge with me going forward.