Although some of you have gotten a preview of it on our Facebook page, this week marks the official debut of our new Comics Studies at UNT logo (now appearing in the top right corner of this blog)!  This logo was designed by Kaleb Privett, a junior Communication Design major at UNT and a student assistant in the Libraries’ External Relations department.  His overall goal as a communication designer is to create things that are artistic, helpful, and informative. 

We talked to Kaleb about his process in designing this logo, and here’s what he told us:

First draft of the Comics Studies logo

“The Comics Studies logo was a unique project that ended up being informative and rewarding. Being fairly unfamiliar with the current state of comics, I approached this project with a mental image of older comics. The visual language of comics from the past is commonly adopted and reinterpreted by designers and illustrators to use across various contexts. I saw this logo project as a golden opportunity to reference the styles of illustrators that I admire like Patrick Leger or Arturo Torres. This, however, ended being a mistake on my behalf because it caused me to begin a project with a visual bias, and the first logo sort of misses the mark on conveying popular topics in contemporary comics like inclusiveness and diversity. The illustration process consisted of a tight thumbnail sketch, tracing the sketch in Adobe Illustrator, and using some grungy art brushes within the software program to give it a vintage look.

Comics Studies logo, second concept sketch

 

After the first concept, I was directed towards some present-day comics and graphic novels that focus on equality and equal representation of different cultural groups. It was time to go back to the drawing board with an updated perception of my client’s needs. I also needed to take a deeper consideration of what a logo is, and that a highly illustrative style could potentially be unbeneficial if the mark were to be used at a very small scale.

 

It took some sketching to revise the logo, but I arrived at an unexpected and unique solution that the Comics Studies group was happy with! I was also very pleased to hear that the dark and bold qualities of the character and the typography would stand out among other logos within the realm of comics. Perhaps it takes someone who is foreign to the subject matter to generate something a little different.” –KP

Comics Studies logo final version

In fact, those of us working on the Comics Studies programs here at the Libraries are VERY happy with Kaleb’s work and excited about the new logo.  Not only did he give us a stylish and functional design to use on our blog and other pages, but also captured both the serious study and the humor of working with comics in the sweaty, furrowed-brow intensity of our poor hero immersed in the study of comics theory.  And, as he mentioned above, we’re especially happy with the gender-ambiguity and queer look of our hero, which reflects some of the range and diversity of contemporary comics and their audiences.  This IS the hero we deserve!

We hope to see more of Kaleb’s work in the future, and you’ll definitely see more of his logo and banner designs on all of our pages and events materials.