I was asked a few months ago by a friend of mine to create a logo for a non-profit organization that she was working on called Tiny Acorns. The idea behind it is to create handcrafted items for babies in the NICU at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. I was excited to work on it, but at the same time felt a little nervous I would fall short on a project that had so much meaning to her. This is a brief description of the thought process and design ideas I came up with for this project.
Thought Process
Right after our conversation I started to doodle ideas. The idea was fresh and I was excited, so I didn’t want to lose that energy. By the time I went to bed I had filled a page with every little symbol and idea that came to mind. The next day I decided it was best to take a step back and really think about the experience of being in the NICU, and what the atmosphere might be like for the family and child. I imagined a very mechanical atmosphere with wires, beeping noises from machines, and lots of little blinking lights from all the monitors. Although the hospital probably makes an effort to create a relaxing space, there has to be a level of stress that overwhelms even the strongest of people. So, with this thought in mind my plan was to make a logo as simple as possible to contrast the atmosphere, and have a natural organic feel to contrast the machines.
Design Features
I wanted the design to be direct, and a symbol that didn’t overcomplicate, or take attention away from the main focus, the act of giving a simple heartfelt gift. I wanted it to be strong, but delicate at the same time. Since the main slogan is “Helping Love Grow”, I wanted a heart to be the main focus. I placed the heart inside of the acorn to give it a feeling of being nestled in close. I went with a thicker line weight to give the feeling of confidence and strength, but also a big strong hug. I stayed away from any extra detail in the acorn, because it could quickly get out of control. The idea is to keep it simple. The typeface is Sophia Pro Soft. I really like the thickness of the bold font because it holds up to the thicker lines in the logo, and the rounded edges help keep the design soft. The contrasting font is Sophia Pro Extra Light. Since I’m still a novice with typefaces, I played it safe by using different fonts within the same family.
Overall, I’m really happy with the project and feel confident about the solution I was able to present to my friend. I trusted and followed the process that I’ve learned over the last few years, while also adding a step of reflection to give further depth and meaning to the design. It’s a great cause and if you would like to donate there is a link below to their Facebook page. Even if you can’t sew or knit there are other ways to help, so stop by their page, give them a like, and share.
https://www.facebook.com/tinyacornssewing/
