The Cat's Out of the Bag
Robson Square is the home to Vancouver's street dancers circa 1980, and it's been over 15 years since the Queer dance style called W*acking has been introduced to Vancouver.
Various dance groups and crews within the style emerged since then. In 2019, the community wanted to create an identity to represent the people and culture of this style, and to let other dancers from other cities know where to go if they search for it.
This said launch was planned in early 2020; however with the pandemic, all was then put on hold until its slow restart in 2021.
The Finished Product
Careful thought and consideration was made in the process, paying respects to the previous generations that have carried and represented the dance in Vancouver. The chosen animal (cat) and the colors purple and yellow are intentionally chosen due to the dance and LGBTQ2S+ history.
I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to practice and be a guest in this style, and to be able to give something back.
The Process
Here are a selection of photos that illustrate my thought process. Overall, I am responsible from start to finish, and treated the community leaders as my "client". The amount of hours applied in total including revisions was estimated to 40 hours.
As shown, I did a lot of thumbnailing and research on pre-existing logos that could help inspire me in terms of silhouette and style, as well as take reference photos in the city. I also went through a lot renderings in the low/med-fidelity stage to test different type, cat silhouette, colors, etc.
Latest Outcomes
Since the community's slow restart in 2021, digital representations have been reproduced in some of the digital media as well as IG stories.
Because it is a community account that has a grassroots DIY approach, design language IG posts vary as the assets and initiatives are from various teachers and facilitators.
Logo Reception from the Community
Since the logo reveal in May 2021, the community response was very excited and proud to finally have an identity that truly represents how Vancouver resonates with the dance style of W*acking and how it is being practiced. They are looking forward to translating this in other means in the future - underground street dance merchandise, anyone?
