Creating a logo means giving up many drafts and ideas along the way. In my case, most of them end up in the Mac trash bin. Though, I’ll admit, not all of them. Some are so good—like that cozy sweater that just doesn’t match any of your pants—that they get tucked away in a back drawer. I’m excellent at throwing out sweaters, by the way. Logos? Not so much.
I never open that drawer, by the way. The folder is called „Brilliant Ideas.“ And yet, not a single one of these brilliant ideas has ever fit another name or another boat. Sometimes it’s the length, sometimes the style, sometimes the typography. Doesn’t matter. So now there’s this drawer of old designs that never made it onto a hull, and I thought, why not let you take a peek?
My proposals promise 3 to 5 logo designs by contract. I’ve never actually managed that. My financial minister, Holger, keeps telling me, „Karin, 12 logos? No one can decide!“ So I pre-select which ideas make the cut and which don’t. And even then, most of the logos get tweaked during the process, leaving a few more beauties by the wayside.
Logos aren’t about taste—they have a job to do. They need to be visible, for example, because you usually see yachts from a distance. Legibility depends on that distance, and some logos that look terrible on paper turn out to be perfectly readable from afar. Colors matter too. A yacht that’s always in the sun should probably avoid a predominantly red logo. Red fades, no matter how good the material or vinyl is. Other colors fade too, but blue just turns light blue, and gray turns lighter gray. Nothing as unfortunate as a pink.
(More on perfectly designed yacht logos coming soon.)
And when everything goes right? The logo becomes a feast for the eyes—both for the owner and the admirers.
What do you think? Let me know.
Wishing you all the best,
Ka.