In addition to possessing a brilliant analytical mind, my friend Ana Olano is also a fantastic musician. During the fall of 2018, she asked me if I could design a logo for the Harvard College Latin Band, a musical ensemble sponsored by TEATRO! – Harvard's Latinx performance club.
I wanted to capture the brightness and musicality of Latin music while keeping the logo simple and readable for posters, web graphics, and emails, so I played around with sketches of various instruments from around the world, like these bongos. However, in my attempt to incorporate many colors all at once, I ended up with a confused and semi-psychedelic design.
I hit some sour notes at first...
The complexity would only increase if I added more instruments to represent a full band, so I decided against the instrument-collage idea and went back to basics. With a reference at hand, I created a simple trumpet vector.
As a former orchestra cellist, I am intimately acquainted with just how loud these little guys can be.
I liked the simplicity of a single instrument complemented by the relative complexity of the trumpet's design, so I decided to use the trumpet alone in the final design. Next came my personal ultimate time-sink: choosing a typeface.
I wanted the logo to be strong and confident, so I knew that whatever I chose should be be of "bold" or "black" weight. Beyond that, the options were limitless. Should I go modern and sharp? Round and bouncy? Serif-ed and traditional? Wide? Narrow? I ended up choosing ITC Modern No. 216 Heavy, because I felt it added some texture and character to the logo while feeling sturdy and well-grounded. The trumpet would nestle into the logo right above the word "Band." (It's like it was designed to fit or something!)
The final layout of the logo.
Finally, I turned to color. I wanted to symbolize the vibrance and diversity of the Latin American diaspora by using a multitude of colors. I searched for stock images of traditional Central American textiles to see what combinations of colors might look good together. Ultimately, I chose to color the logo text with a gradient of four colors, ranging from warm to cool. The trumpet was colored in flat gold to add some brightness.
The final logo design.
By keeping the design simple and testing radically different shapes and colors during the brainstorming phase, I was able to create an effective logo now in use on campus posters, social media, and more. If you're ever on campus during a performance, make sure to check the Latin Band out!
