Project FEESH: Company Logo Design

A product must be produced by someone, right? Cereals can't just appear out of thin air without the effort and hard work of the many people involved. For FEESH, the cereal brand that I'm working on, the company behind it would also have to be thought up, too, much to my initial dismay as I had no clue as to how that was going to work out for me. And so, I learnt...

What's in a company name.

Of course, I had to skim through most of the designs that have already existed to get a head-start on my own. Based on my observations, the existing company names all had their own individual traits and rationale, and to peel them off one by one...

KELLOGG'S

Kellogg's name was derived from the family name of the two men responsible for bringing breakfast cereals to where they are today, Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. The logo itself was designed by Ferris Crane with the famous type artist Y. Ames by his side. The logo is simple in itself, and only features the name in red, cursive writing. This has become Kellogg's corporate identity dating back to the 1900s, and only few variations have been made since then.

One of Kellogg's first few logos featured on cereal boxes in 1906. (Photo credit: www.kellogghistory.com)

The logo then evolved in this package that was released in 1965. A little variation was also added to better suit the product. (Photo credit: www.kellogghistory.com)

Kellogg's current logo. (Photo credit: intergratedbrands.org)

NESTLE

The company, Nestlé, also derived its name from Henri Nestlé, its founder. This would work tremendously, seeing as his name also means the word "nest" or "home" in German, which would give the company a warm image. Initially, Nestlé used Henri's family coat of arms that had an image of a bird sitting in its nest, but was modified to have more birds including one mother bird feeding its little baby birds. These birds were drawn in detail, but as time progressed, it became more simplified. In contrast to Kellogg's, Nestlé's company logo kept changing and evolving from time to time, with the latest modification done in 1995.

The evolution of Nestlé's logos from 1905 to 1995. (Photo credit: 99designs.com)

And so, I had to brainstorm...

NAMES:

I've studied a number of logos, and have skimmed through multiple designs, and now it was my turn to put my research to the test.

Like most of the formidable companies, I'd also like to include instances of my family into the project. I thought of multiple alternatives for names (Ms. Ida asked us for 20 of them, so we had to get that much eventually) and nothing sounded catchy to me so far... As I jotted down possible names, I also took note of what icons or images I could use when I design the logo in the future. This includes sunshine, grains, houses, etc. Some colors were vaguely chosen as well, after studying color psychology on the web.

Here are some of the names I thought up of:

Naturally, I didn't want a name that would be too obnoxiously self-centered or obvious, so I looked into the choices and found "FASIH," or, to be more accurate, "faSIh."

FASIH came up to mind while I was turning my name (or bits of it) into acronyms. Thinking up of words to go with your name felt like a fuss, so I thought of thinking up of the words before arraging them instead of the other way around. FASIH came to be thanks to my need to have my family members involved some way, so, I signed them up.

Fiqa is my second sister,
Amirul, my obnoxiously supportive brother,
Sariah is my beautiful, loving mother,
Ibrahim is my hardworking and earnest father, and
Huda is my inspiring eldest sister.

FASIH is also a Malay word that roughly translates to "fluent," "eloquence," and "quick-witted." These three adjectives describe what I aspire to be, not only with my words and speeches, but also with the operations and progressions of my make-believe company. I'd like for it to be an efficient and well-managed body that pays extra care on present-ability and quality.

DESIGNS:

Although I was already satisfied with my choice, I had no clue where to start with the design in itself. I tried to study logos and how they are made, but I could not find a way to summarize FASIH in a logo design. In the end, after consulting with Ms. Ida, we both thought it'd be better to rely on typography, for my company.

Starting from one point, which was my company's name, I branched out to multiple ideas and concepts I could use to represent it. Some ideas were made off the bat, using generic designs such as condensing the company name into a shape, or adding lines wherever I thought was necessary. It was truly a whirlwind of a ride. Here are some of the sketches I've made.

I really liked the designs I thought up of here, but using them would make my cereal seem like cat food.

In these designs, I played with font sizes and shapes.

Lastly, I decided to go with motives that scream "BREAKFAST CEREAL."

In the end, with Ms. Ida's approval, I settled with this design;

It features the company name in lowercase, with a font that is rounded (so that it doesn't look intimidating) along with wheat overlapping the name, creating a negative imagery whenever it does so.

Currently, I am transferring the sketched logo onto Adobe Illustrator to retrace it clearly and to test some of the color schemes that I would like to use on it. Hopefully, I can finish this up soon. Godspeed.