Mohamad AL-khouli
Personal Identity
INSPIRATION:
Over the past few years I came up with temporary logos for my freelance work, but I never created a real name for myself. I referred to myself as "M-Design". But I found it lame.
So I decided to use Arabic Language & the name my parents gave me "Mohamad" "محمد" to make the logo & identity. Through dealing with clients, I found clients could not take me seriously if I did not. So, I needed to characterize my design style and hint at my personality into one solid iconic logo.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The sketch focused on Qualities that distinguishes me. I wanted those qualities to run over into my identity as a civil Eng. & designer "simple & detailed". I wanted it to be a fingerprint that distinguish me, I was uncreative with my attempts of writing my name. Until I began to look at the letterforms not as letters, but simply as shapes. So, I added to it a little Engineering detail!
PRODUCTION OR REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY:
Knowing what I wanted of the identity helped me a lot, but still I had to work on the visual representation. Started sketching and write my name in every Arabic font type. I had a lot of options, but one caught my eye, is how I tend to write my name near the bottom left corner with the date mark at the end of every sketch, which was in Riqaa font. So I had to develop that handwritten sketch to create a solid iconic logo. I then used Adobe Illustrator, Bamboo Wacom tablet, and Adobe Photoshop.
SPECIFICATIONS / DIMENSIONS / PACKAGE:
Business Card 50 mm x 90 mm.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION:
The design represents me in every aspect as a civil engineer & as a Designer, how every letter has his own shape yet when they're together, there is a harmony in the line flow, as if there is a rule between them. There is no stepping over, every letter knows its own part and place in the identity.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT:
I have searched the personal identities of visual artists, designers, photographers, and many, many more. I looked as they successfully expressed who they are in these logos, which gave a glimpse into how to express myself. Seeing how they break who they are into ideas that represent them, made me think and look into myself, I needed to understand who I am, and what I stand for, in order to make the right identity. I'm a civil engineer also I'm a graphic designer, being able to create harmony between the two things, a rule between them, helped me in better understanding myself. I'm simple as it gets, yet I love the tiny little details, which make things interesting.
RESEARCH CHALLENGE:
No project comes with a clear path. To me, I had a series of obstacles that I have faced the entire period. One was I had a little time working on the identity as I am busy at college, another challenge was the visual aspect I didn’t want the logo & identity to be like the mainstream signature logos, I wanted to turn how I write my name into one solid iconic logo that defines me. Early stage sketches were helping in forming the shape of the logo, but some letters were small and others were big, I needed to find the right measures to create that harmony in the line flow.
No project comes with a clear path. To me, I had a series of obstacles that I have faced the entire period. One was I had a little time working on the identity as I am busy at college, another challenge was the visual aspect I didn’t want the logo & identity to be like the mainstream signature logos, I wanted to turn how I write my name into one solid iconic logo that defines me. Early stage sketches were helping in forming the shape of the logo, but some letters were small and others were big, I needed to find the right measures to create that harmony in the line flow.
