The logo creation journey for Josh Lacoste was part of a design contest I entered on the platform 99Designs. Out of 80 competing designs, mine was ultimately selected as the winning design.
I was attracted to this project because of its unique challenge: how can a muscial style be converted into a logo? Josh is a future house electronic DJ based in Tokyo. In the project brief, he listed a few DJs that his audience listens to. With my headphones on, this gave me the initial direction for the project.
The final design channels to energy and emotion of house music. As an added bonus, the logo is easily adaptable to video, making it a dynamic asset for a new DJ.
A musician's logo is unique in that it needs to stand in the background of the artist's music. The logo shouldn't overpower their music, but instead should be a symbol for what the listener can expect. I looked at musicians that Josh pointed to in his brief: Odesza, Bonobo, Kygo, and other electronic artists. All of their logos had a few themes in common, such as:
At this point in the design process it was time to get all of my ideas onto the computer. After looking at other logos, I began playing with different forms of Josh's name. I knew he would want something unique, so I really pushed myself to think creatively and think outside of the box.
At this point I had my logo explorations reviewed by a senior graphic designer who was interested in my use of the upside down letters, but told me to keep iterating on the theme. I took his advice and made some adjustments before coming up against the three day deadline imposed by 99 Designs.
Roboto is a versatile and modern font that works well for music because of its neutrality. It's quiet but also has a style of it's own.
Out of 80 competing designs, this design was selected by the DJ. I also highlighted the potential for this logo to be used for video productions during his sets. This dynamic logo is able to adapt to a wide array of media.
Out of 80 competing designs, my design was selected by the DJ. I also highlighted the potential for this logo to be used for video productions during his sets. This dynamic logo is able to adapt to a wide array of media.
An important lesson I learned during this contest was not giving up when you have an inclination. I almost gave up on this contest and didn't submit, but I had a feeling that I knew what the client wanted. Being able to see my competitor's designs, I thought they misunderstood the project brief.