Synopsis "Making Our Mark: Volume 1"
Identity. The individual characteristics by which a person or thing is recognized. From a personal standpoint, it defines who we are. For most people, their identity is created through experiences, choices and events that occur over a lifetime. But how well can you know your own identity with only a limited amount of years to pull from? Ask yourself, "Who am I?" We asked one hundred ninth graders, just entering their freshman year in high school, to take a closer look at themselves and to design a personal logo around their identity. This book presents 26 of the most unique and interesting designs. Some chose to become more aware of who they were at this moment in time. Others chose to look ahead to the future and where they saw themselves after they graduated high school. The assignment put no limits on where the students envisioned themselves. Their dreams, not yet confined by the realities of "experience", were encouraged to be as large, or as small as they wanted to be. Designing the logos took several steps. They learned to look not only at the positive, but also the negative space around their design. To be aware not only of what was there, but also what wasn't. To understand that "more" doesn't necessarily mean "better" and that sometimes it's the simplest of things can make the world of difference. From thumbnails to tight pencils; concept to completed logo, it was an iterative, evolutionary process. It took time and patience. Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned, not the least of which was that every choice should have purpose. Every line, every letter, every decision had an effect on the overall design. Yes, there were academic lessons and skills to be learned during this project. What is typography? How important are positive and negative space in a design? What is a thumbnail (other than that thing at the end of your thumb)? They learned about the Selection Tool, the Zoom Tool and the Pen Tool, but hopefully the tool they learned about the most...was themselves.
