Unveiling the new Paul Curtis Artwork logo!
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
After almost a decade of operating under the old logo, I have finally put in the effort and come up with a new one! Some of you may have seen the social media poll posted a few weeks ago asking you to judge and give feedback on the prototypes. I took on board that feedback and here is the result...
Why Change the logo now?
It has been overdue for a while. My old logo was thrown together quickly in Powerpoint when I was suddenly asked to provide one for a magazine article. It served it's purpose, but it was basically just text! It felt limited in conveying the spirit of my work. As an artist, surely I needed something more...., well, something more artistic.
The new design needs to be more visually appealing, with a cleaner, more versatile look that works across different platforms and media.
The Design Process
A new logo has been on the back burner of my mind for at least 3 years - I just couldn't decide how I wanted it to look. I started by reflecting on how the logo should look and how to improve on the old logo. My main criteria were:
A graphical representation of my work
Something unique to my work - not a generic artist logo
Clarity and simplicity
A sense of movement
I wanted to design this myself - not because I am a control freak, but because I am a creative, so felt it was something I should be able to do myself (I have designed logos for other businesses, so I had to back myself!). I threw together some rough prototypes and whitled it down to 2 concepts. These were shared online to see which people preferred, but it seemed to be a 50:50 tie.
However, there was some really useful feedback in the comments, and it the end, I worked out a way I could blend the 2 prototypes together.
I then went through a process of testing the new draft logo in different sizes and colours to ensure it would remain effective whether on a website, printed materials, merchandise - and almost most importantly - can it be cut into a stencil!
What's it all about?
I wanted the new logo to look sexier - it had to look cool even if I didn't! I needed the graphics to include elements of artwork. The feedback I received and I agreed with was that brushes tend to suggest traditional artists or painter/decorators. So despite much of my work being done with rollers and brushes, I decided that a spray-can was more reflective of the industry I work in.
But a spray can alone would not make me unique from any other street artist. I know I am strongly associated with the wings (For all Liverpool's Liver Birds), so I decided to include this. Now, wings have been done to death and are used in many logos (Castore anyone?), but I knew I could include a nod to them if I was creative. The obvious thing to do would to use a symmetrical wing design, but I wanted to take a unique angle. And that is when I stumbled upon the genius ;-) idea of representing the paint spray as feathers!
I wanted the logo to be neat and sharp, a reflection of the high standards I apply to my work. The colour palette naturally started with the copper oxide green of the Liver Birds. I then went with bright red as a counter colour. It is a bold statement, but then alot of my work is colourful and bold.
Finally, I was going to come up with some BS about how the circle represents my journey or something, but the truth is that if is simply because they look better than squares and they work better for social media (think profile pics etc).
Looking Ahead
I am not a multi-national FTSE company, so do not expect a glitzy launch party. And do not be surprised if you will see my old logo knocking about for a few months. However, I will be gradually changing all my media to the new look. This has already started, but there is a great deal to do.
Keep an eye out for it appearing on new murals, my banners and flags etc. I will be ordering new hoodies (I may even take orders for these - if you are interested, let me know). And keep an eye out for me in my branded van - beep, beep!
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