Introducing the new Word11 logo

You may have noticed that the Word11 site has a new logo. We’re so happy about how it turned out that we thought we’d write a blog post to show what went into designing this logo.

Credits: Graphic Design: Eva He;
Project Lead: Daveed Flexer;
Art Director: Martin Finesilver

First off, there were a few specific challenges around the Word11 logo design – it needed a quick turnaround, and it’s a logo for a finished site. Designing a logo for an established website puts a constraint on the design possibilities because the logo not only has to communicate the desired message, but must also work within the existing page.

To get some ideas for the initial design, there was a brainstorming process around some Word11 keywords, such as: event, techy, open house, colourful, future, city, WordPress, and Web.

Some design elements like speech bubbles came to mind first, but they’ve become cliché over the years. We wanted to create something unique and special. We tried, for instance, replacing the letter “O” with circles, which, after all, can represent different thoughts.

Another idea was of a block city. The basic structure made in Adobe Illustrator (shown below) is a combination with letter “W” and “11”, which mimics the style of isometric pixel art, which has both an urban feel, as well as a tie to digital technology.
While we think that the logos based on this concept (below), especially the black and white version, are very strong, they just didn’t fit with the current website.
So now, we are back to a simple layout, with just words. Luckily, a lot can be expressed by choosing the right typeface.

We wanted a modern, geometric font that was also friendly. We considered Helvetica, but as a typography-only logo, it was too solemn. Eurofurence won out for its its futuristic flair and rounded edges. To give it a more sophisticated look, we used the bold family.

One of the more difficult design problems to overcome with this logo was communicating what the “11” in “Word11” means. It’s a reference to the year of the event, 2011, but someone who had never heard about Word11 before might think Word11 will be “11” from year to year. It could mean anything: 11 techniques, 11 speakers, 11 attendees (God forbid!). The design with the dot between “Word” and “11” helps simply separate the event, “Word”, and the year, “11” to make it clear that the event will be annual.

Another design that was considered had two dots at either end of the design. It had a kind of playful look, but we thought that with the colour, it was too playful.

The success of the final design was all about achieving a balance. In terms of tone, the bold font shows that the event is significant, while the colour shows a sense of fun and playfulness. In terms of information, the dot helps signify the year of this annual event, while the futuristic font shows that it is modern and striving to embrace tomorrow’s ideas.

We hope you enjoy this year’s logo. Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions about the logo and the design process!