The evolution of the new Cambrian logo

On Nov 16th, we formally unveiled our brand new logo for the CIC. This logo has been used unofficially on the Paypal reservation page for the event itself but this was the first time we showed it to the world proudly. A few folks asked me about the logo and its origins and I wanted to throw something together about that.

After we registered CIC as a CA state NPO, we realized that we would need a logo. We kept talking about what and how without really doing much about it. When we laid out a plan to get sponsors for the Diwali event, we realized that it was time to work on the logo. I set out asking folks for inputs on Facebook. 

First there was just silence. But then as time progressed, I started hearing back from folks. Santhosh sent a bunch of ideas. Veena sent me a few back of the napkin sketches. Srividya sent a few and Krithika dashed off some on the last day. Our Diwali grand sponsor Venkata chimed in with a bunch of entries on the last day. Before I knew, I had over 15 entries. This was a fantastic response for a logo design activity among adults. The entries were put to vote with the CIC board which after multiple rounds of voting finally settled with an entry from Venkata. It was a pretty challenging vote to say the least. We had multiple entries that had good feedback but we had to settle on one.

Here is the original entry from Venkata that was selected. 

It was simple, easy to replicate and conveyed what we were about - all important requirements for a good logo. But we had a problem. This logo was too simplistic and a pain to use with a black background. So we needed to tweak it just a little bit to make it web and print friendly and throw in some very basic flourishes. Enter our resident design expert, Veena Singh. 

Amidst her hectic schedule, Veena patiently worked with me over a few weeks to build a web and print friendly version of the logo that would also have that one touch to make it an enduring design. This is what she showed me when she was ready.

Veena had taken Venkata's core idea shown to the right with black background and made it standout. The text went from being on the side to being on a curve over the alphabets. And the "i" developed an attitude. It offers a lot of ideas to the free thinker- a parent and child, someone looking over a younger one, a smaller Cambrian (in orange) growing into a bigger community (in green) and so much more. More importantly, this was Cambrian in its simplest form. Veena had captured our spirit and vision in the best way possible.

Venkata had laid the foundation. An idea to start with. Veena polished it off. A team effort that brought forth an enduring image of our community.