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I recently launched a small column focused on the world of cycling. Basically, inside, I will do nothing but collect posts dealing with my bike-related experiences. The themes will range from training to itineraries, to mechanics and who knows what else.
As previously announced in the first post - which you can consult by CLICKING HERE - today I intend to explain the process that led me to choose a name and then a graphic representation. Nothing too technical, it serves to give the idea of the succession of steps and perhaps to act as a rescue anchor as the simplest case-study as possible for people novice with this kind of approach.
Finding a name for something is a process that technically takes the name of NAMING, an English word that is also widely used in the country where I live in. In my case, I was looking for something that had to do with the bike, something that was light enough and didn't give the idea of overly technical aspects, something that could be modern but relatively simple. Which are the same aspects used for the creation of the actual graphics, but we'll come back to this.
I thought back to an ancient expression that often runs in the cycling world, especially amateur. This expression is: “Sunday cyclists”. It is a homemade-style expression with joking connotations that is used to indicate those cyclists who for various reasons - work, family reasons, health reasons, and more - are unable to go out except a couple of times a week, just on the weekend, sometimes peppering with a short parenthesis based on a croissant and cappuccino.
Here: I wanted to relate the name to this concept. Taken by a sudden intuition, I added the words "Bike" and "Weekend" to the list I had created and selected them as the first choice. I wanted to create a union of the two, so I immediately thought about the term I finally chose: "Bikend". It didn't take long, the term came out because of assonance and because it seemed quite relevant to me. Moreover, it was enough to send my mind back to the concept I wanted to refer to.
Name created: now I had to give it a graphic design. I took the simple Bikend lettering and started rummaging through the list of typefaces - so to speak, the different styles in which the letters appear -, finding some good variations.
I found a nice full-bodied one, and moreover with slightly irregular outlines. It was not out of place, it gave me the idea of not expressing too much playfulness, and at the same time not too much formality, mixing a little of both characteristics.
However, I didn't like it as it was, and I wanted to create something special. I've made a few quick tries and will only show you what I ultimately set out to develop. Having duplicated the writing, I created a slightly distorted variant, hinging the rest of the work on that momentary result.
The next step was to create the full name of the column - "Towards the Bikend" - with the same character, referring precisely to someone who is preparing to engage in a weekend on the saddle of their bike or in any case in close contact with the world of two wheels.
All over here? Certainly no, there was still an element of fantasy that could transform simple writing into something more. I didn't want a too abstract pictogram, I wanted something that gave the idea of this writing without being a mere and simple linear text. How to do it?
I immediately chose my path. First, I resized the words in three different formats.
So I aligned the three words as I wanted them to be arranged in the background, duplicating everything. In addition, I moved the previously obtained copy slightly higher and more to the right of the viewer.
Why this? You can see it in the image below: I started subtracting the writing in the foreground from the one behind it, creating an effect in which the final writing was still legible - in my opinion - like Towards the Bikend, but with a pinch of necessary "artistic" interpretation. We are far from the works of the great masters, this is precisely the basis: but I did not mind at all.
Below I show you the result in two colors.
After my main job, I spent the rest of the time creating two important graphic cornerstones for my column. First, three different types of banners: or rather, same banner, different colors. You can see the example in the image below, where I have grouped all three side by side.
The last and perhaps most expensive step was the creation of a cover image. I'm honest, I've tried several, especially by varying the size, colors, and positioning of the objects inside. In the end, I chose the one you see in the image below.
I wanted something neutral, simple, modern; that it was not completely detached from the idea of "technician" but that it was not even a three-dimensional elaborate "from a Hollywood film". Oh my God, I admit that for the latter I don't even have the competence. 😅
I finished by adding the Towards the Bikend logo, the icons of two different communities that I will use to publish this occasional column, and the clearly written "My Personal Experience": everything you will find in this column unless otherwise communicated, will be only fruit of my personal experience, and NEVER - I stress, never! - it will have to be followed without the necessary competence in this regard. However, it remains a good way, in my opinion, to find ideas on topics that affect the world of bicycles more or less closely.
And with that, I'm done, and I hope I haven't bored you. As I said in the first place, and as I decided to underline in the title, you can consider this post as a case study for creating a name and its subsequent transformation into a digital logo. Leaving you, I invite you to follow the episodes of the column if you are interested. To do this, you can search for posts on Hive under the #bikend tag.