In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee, an independent contractor at CERN - The European Organization for Nuclear Research - proposed a project he called hypertext. Today, we call them links, words with a visual cue to facilitate the sharing of information. Click it and they will come.

1991: America Online shifted its focus to Internet services for the Windows operating system. AOL would make communicating on the Internet easy to use, simple to understand, and affordable for most households. But the Internet demands change, a massive gravity that creates perpetual motion. Bloated, cumbersome corporations are rarely capable of such action. Now, AOL is a dinosaur in a world of mammals.

The MP3 format becomes available in 1994. MPEG Layer 3 allows music to be compressed into tiny file sizes. The recording industry, plump on a 100% profit margin from CD sales is concerned, but unwavering in its business model. Recording industry administrative executives cannot agree on a plan so a “stay the course” mentality is maintained.

1999: Napster is born to the Internet, allowing data sharing from one computer to another. Almost overnight, a dozen other entities offer similar services. The MP3 digital music format goes completely viral. Music is commoditized. The Internet devours a raw, bloody chunk of its first business model - physical distribution.

By 2003 a number of studies are conducted on the Internet’s effect on socializing. In this same year, Facebook and MySpace are launched, simplifying the creation of personal web space with an added social component. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, was trying to get a girl off his mind by blogging. People begin to reach out, connect, and re-connect on the Web in a way e-mail cannot allow. User-empowerment defines the Internet.

In 2004, Flickr, the online photo repository, is launched. The Internet now has a face, generally uncorrected in Photoshop, and it’s beautiful. Millions of smiles, tears, and fishing trips are shared online.

Democratization of video comes to the Web in 2005 with YouTube, in part due to affordable personal digital video equipment. Desktop video editing software is both affordable and powerful enough to create decent quality digital movies. It’s only a matter of time before someone creates a low-budget movie that gets the attention of Hollywood.

2006: Twitter is born, an entirely usable short message service (SMS) for the rest of the Internet. Brevity is the mother of invention and 140 character messages spawn the concept of micro-blogging.

This is our digital life…

Fortunately, at home, I work with something less Rosanne Barr, more Monica Bellucci.

Recently, I was contacted by Ron Mitchell, President of MTec Systems, for a logo redesign. MTec Systems is a turn-key organization, leveraging hardware, software, network communications, and Internet development. Ron requested that I nudge their branding a bit, modernize it. The new logo should be:

• Flexible, allowing for multiple media outlets (t-shirts, print collateral, web media, etc.).
• Present a platform from which the company can springboard to build its new brand.
• As always, work well in either color or black/white (meaning we will not be exploring 3-dimensional logo options like Xerox or AT&T’s new logos, respectively).

Nothing new here, really. The above guidelines should apply to all logo design work.

After looking at some of MTec’s promotional material and Web site, I scribbled down a number of metaphors (in my trusty Moleskine) to explore with the logo mark.

• Web development
• Firewalls
• Wireless Connectivity
• Networking
• Integration

All of those seemed like worthwhile approaches, but after a number of sketches and conversations with myself, to myself, in the company of others, I chose to explore the concept of INTEGRATION. It’s the raw, bloody heart of any networked computer system, it has an exceptionally marketable, positive message, and allows for a flexible approach.

I view this part of the design process very much like finding the borders of a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle. To solve the puzzle, you need a framework to operate within. Once that framework is established, decisions may come very quickly, but finding the heart of your approach is key to any successful design project.

Context is king.

Exploring typographic options tend to take the most of my time once the context of the logo mark is discovered. I whittle away the hours of the evening at Hoefler & Frere-Jones, looking for that typeface that properly communicates the context for which I’m searching.

In this instance, the choices came fairly quickly, but the decision took a bit of work. I wanted a generally approachable sans-serif typeface – friendly and light weight yet corporate. Caslon was in the running, as was Futura. Ultimately, I chose to work with Gill Sans. I felt the cut of the stem of the lowercase ‘t’ was particularly interesting and worked well with my theme of integration. Unfortunately, the ‘m’ didn’t want to play well in context.

Hence, artistic license. I cut the stem of the ‘m’ to complement the ‘t’ and create a manner of consistency between the two letterforms.

The next step in my design process is creating form from the previous foundation work. Having established my context from company research, chosen the iconography of my typefaces (and whatever variations to that typeface required to complement the context), I pursue the word mark, the icon, that will further complement the logo design. All letterforms, shapes, and spaces are game in this step of my process.

Exploring the context of INTEGRATION, I‘ve uploaded the important steps of this process to my Flickr account to better embellish on the flexibility, the malleability of this step. While the sketches do not clearly indicate my type choice (a conscious decision on my part to avoid restraint beyond the context I am working within), they should clearly denote my progression from one topic to another as I try to hone in on the mark.

Integration, yet simplicity. Networking. A number of computer components working in tandem, fluidly, to provide an information rich environment. One point connecting to another connecting to another.

A perfect circle colliding with the letterforms. No, not colliding. Integrating with the letterforms, yet not so much as to obscure the readability of the letterforms.

Color is the next step in my design process. There’s not much I can add here that hasn’t been stated or re-stated in one form or another on countless other design web logs. I keep color solutions simple to ensure cross media needs (clothing, print, web, etc.).

After offering a number of options to the client, exploring several approaches, we landed on squarely on blue. Cool blue with a hint of red. PMS 288.

And that’s my process. Structured, but flexible, allowing for special considerations with those picky clients. In this case, however, Ron was very satisfied with the final logo design.

To better supplement this post, I’ve included a few links below of various other logo design techniques and approaches you may want to explore when you have a moment. While I don’t necessarily agree with their respective approaches, it’s worth exploring to be informed. Finding your own rhythm is the beauty of communication design.

• How to Design a Logo from Just Creative
• How to Design a Logo from Concept to Completion from Spoon Graphics
• Find Your Identity from Peachpit

That’s a wrap. My Dell’s reluctantly silent now. I’m going to defragment her this weekend to see if this adjusts her attitude. Who knows? Maybe she’s just churning for retirement.