Logo for Garian Photography

WHAT THEY ASKED FOR: I’m trying to start up a photography business, mostly selling landscapes taken around the Scottish Highlands where I live. I’m not really interested in shooting weddings or portraits because people can be a pain. Landscapes just stand there, perfectly happy to be photographed.

I have recently landed work shooting real estate, which I enjoy because houses are like landscapes, they don’t give you any problems really, they stand still and let me do my thing.

I’d like a logo that says professional rather than ‘fun’. The name I’m using is Garian Photography, Garian comes from Gary and Ian, Ian being my father who has provided endless support and encouragement.

WHAT THEY GOT: This one was frustrating!

The words ‘Scottish Highlands’, ‘photography’ and ‘landscapes’ stuck in my mind straight away and made me think of mountains and castles within the shape of a camera. OK, great – I had an idea. But the frustrating part was trying to create the right scenario for that idea to work.

I started off by drawing a basic outline of a camera. Then I added a castle to create the shape of the shutter button. Then I added a setting sun to create the lens. Then I added a mountain. Then I added the viewfinder. Then I added the ocean… and then I didn’t like it.

So I started again.

I found some inspiration in photos of Dunnottar Castle and ‘The Globe‘ at Knockan Crag but then I realised two things.

1. You probably shouldn’t use the likeness of iconic landmarks or sculptures in a logo (at first I actually thought ‘The Globe’ was an ancient sculpture but it turns out that it was installed in 2006 by artist Joe Smith).
2. Lots of people already use a camera outline as their photography logo (and it’s probably an idea that is leaning a bit more towards ‘fun’ rather than professional).

I was stuck. I had an idea in my head that I couldn’t shake and it was frustrating.

So in the end I re-read the brief a couple of times looking for clues and then I found it – that little shift in thinking that helped me refocus.

The client wanted “professional rather than ‘fun’”.  

And just like that I had an idea to finish the design – I would remove the camera outline and just ‘focus’ on the camera lens (and now I’m even happier that I just wrote a pun).

So there you go.

LIKE IT OR NOT: Let me know by leaving a comment below.

GET YOUR OWN: If you’d like a Lucky Dip logo of your own, get plucky and enter the lucky dip!