Designed by Jeff Juliard

 

The Logo (color)

The Logo (b&w)

Designers Perception:

THE SILOUETTE
This zen-type logo derives from the idea that Vetiver, through its many beneficial uses, cultivates “harmony” in the environment. With that in mind, I used a circle as the overall shape, since throughout history the circle has been a symbol for ideas of “har­mony”, “balance” and “one-ness” (e.g. wedding bands, the yin/yang symbol, etc.)

THE GRASS ITSELF
I tried and rejected potential icons which highlighted individual blades of grass, since they created a need for foreground/background convey­ances which required detail, which added complexity, which in the end ran against the idea of a simple, zen-like icon. By using instead a hedge-like grass area, I was able to divide the shape into a representation of “earth” and “sky”, two beneficiaries of Vetiver’s usefulness. As a side benefit, if you “squint” at it, you could say the division also helps the icon mimic the yin/yang symbol -- but that may be stretching it.

THE GLOSSY ELEMENT
This can be interpreted in a couple ways. Firstly, it adds a three-di­mensionality to the icon, transforming the circle into a sphere, which represents the “global” nature of the organization. Viewing the icon as a sphere, you can imagine how the blades of grass encircle the sphere, further reinforcing the idea.

Additionally (and viewed in a different way), the gloss gives the icon an aquatic sheen, as though we’re seeing the scene as reflected in a clear, pure drop of water. And finally, it can be interpreted two-dimensionally as a cloud above the Vetiver. These water concepts are important as they relate to Vetiver’s uses.

THE MARQUIS SHAPES BELOW THE GRASS
These are stylized representations of the negative space between the interconnected branches of the Vetiver root system, a metaphor for the networked foundation of the organization.

THE COLORS
Blue and green, naturally. Pantone 369PC and 7460PC, specifically. Bright, saturated, full of life.

THE WORDMARK TYPEFACE
TheSans B3 Light, a humanistic lightweight sans-serif font free from ornamentation and in it’s simplicity, an expression of blades of Vetiver.

Published January 12, 2008