Signs and icons for your yacht
There are easily more than a thousand symbols that can be connected with the world of yachting. Sails and ship’s wheels, waves, signal flags, water, wind, all kinds of animals, or palm trees. And then there are the countless different styles in which such a symbol can be visualised.
More than half of my clients ask for a fitting symbol right from the start. Most of them, of course, already have an idea of what suits them. And that is precisely the crux of the matter — or shall we say, the challenge of it all. I honestly don’t want to count how many boats out there carry a dolphin on their hull. Not particularly original, I think — but for the owner, that very symbol holds a deeply personal meaning.
In semiotics and design theory: signs carrying a precise, fixed meaning, as opposed to symbols, whose meaning depends on interpretation.
With symbols, it is ultimately all about meaning. In my work on yacht logos, I question that meaning. What exactly does the owner associate with this or that symbol? Take the dolphin, for example: is it about the nature of these wonderful creatures, about leaping and freedom, about the sheer joy of life these animals radiate — or about living among friends in a pod? Even here, so many possibilities for interpretation come together that I will most likely never run out of fitting symbols, signs and icons.
And yet, most yacht owners tend to gravitate towards the traditional symbols: the compass, the ever-popular lighthouse.
Interestingly, my follow-up questions often lead to entirely different results. Astrid and Roland initially wanted a very literal, figurative depiction for their yacht Sameera. A figurehead came to mind. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, these carved wooden figures at a ship’s bow served both as a means of identification and as protectors — sailors regarded them almost as the soul of the ship, and a damaged figurehead was seen as an omen of bad things to come (Wikipedia). The tradition reaches back even further: the ancient Egyptians mounted holy birds on their vessels for protection, while the Phoenicians carved horse heads to symbolise swiftness (Historic England). In the course of my research, however, I discovered that Astrid and Roland were really thinking of the wind blowing around this beauty’s face. In the end, we arrived at a rather abstract symbol that integrated perfectly into the typography.
A wind symbol (indicating 15 knots of wind) combined with the letters R for Roland and A for Astrid creates a perfectly integrable pictogram
With Alan, who had a star in mind from the very beginning, it became an entire constellation. His yacht was to be named Estrella — a name I advised against. Estrella is an incredibly common yacht name. We settled on Estelar instead, and naturally a constellation suits it far better than a single star. Even here, we had several options to explore: What do the individual stars look like? And from where on Earth is the constellation being viewed?
In my creative work, the real challenge is far more often one of narrowing things down and sorting ideas out — not one of finding ideas or possible depictions in the first place.
So if you are ever thinking about a fitting symbol for your yacht, my advice is this: question very carefully what it is meant to convey. Freedom, calm, peace, independence, the night sky, the power of the sun, a gentle breeze — or an awe-inspiring wave? Individuality and originality are the keys.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me.
I would love for you to share your thoughts on this topic with me.