by Nancy Creighton

I have been asked to write the story behind my logo design. As a board member of the last board (those whose term ended October 1, 1993), I purposely did not enter the logo contest. However, because of my background in art (I have a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art). I played with logo ideas for about two years. those of you who have been getting the newsletter know of the logo contest we ran for over a year. during that time, we received five submissions for logo designs.

Many of the designs, while good, did not meet our vision for a recognizable symbol for DWU. I told the board that I had an idea I was playing with but did not think I should enter the contest. While recognizing the possible conflict of interest, the board asked me to submit my idea for consideration also. Later, I was asked to do some revision in the first design I submitted. I was very pleased when the board chose my design because they allowed me to give DWU a lasting, tangible gift. I declined the prize of free registration at the 1993 conference to allow DWU to use the money for other purposes.

The ideas that form the basis of the design center on the eyes and a rounded, feminine form. The final design incorporates the following images and concepts:

1. It is rounded and womanly rather than angular and masculine.

2. The dark rounded bar is reminiscent of two different things. The first is an eye, with the white part representing the eye itself. The black (or teal) part represents the eyelid. The second part is the letter D on its back.

3. The lines and the shape together evoke the shape of a fan - which is the traditional woman's object. I am particularly interested in the use of the fan image in quilts made of women of different cultures.

4. The lines radiating out from the center are evocative of a rising sun, a new future for Deaf women.

This logo is also designed to be used in different ways. The plainest form, black and white, will be used often. However, I envision using this the way CBS uses their "eye" logo. The shape itself is strong enough to be identified alone. That means we can change the colors (for the conference program book, it was printed in gold on a dark green background which was beautiful!). It can also be printed as an outline or rippled. The effect of a motion, or a fade within the dark area can be added. It can be used embossed, or printed, and so forth. I also see it being very large with photos in each segment created by the lines, and the lines holding the shape together.

In short, I have tried to create something that is both recognizable as itself, and flexible enough to be used in different ways.