Bill Michie

Why We Work Safely

For this project I created a logo that effectively brands and represents my topic, Why We Work Safely. This assignment reminded of a task I complete often at work – creating project safety stickers. Safety stickers serve two purposes. Primarily they communicate to project managers and superintendents which tradespeople have completed their safety orientations and are allowed on site.  Second, they build morale on the jobsite and allow tradespeople to show off which projects they’ve built over their career.

Surprising to some, visual communication, specifically logos and brands, are an important part of the construction industry.  Every day we seek to communicate complex messages and overcome language barriers with visual cues. The purpose of my logo is to serve as a visual reminder of the importance of working safely.

Design Approach
As I’ve stated in previous posts, I am seeking to make an emotional connection with my audience. When I began planning my logo I referred to past research and determined that to be successful, the logo needed to remind them of their families. I also knew that I wanted to include the phrase Why We Work Safely.

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I began by sketching different variations of hardhats, hearts and safety crosses. You can see, I really got into hearts. Integrating hearts proved difficult and initially, nothing seemed to work. They were either too simple or too dainty for use on construction sites.

Then I realized I wasn’t using my research. The focal point of my collage was the hero family so it makes sense for them to be the focus of this logo. I sketched out my hero family enclosed them in a heart. To connect with construction, I decided to base the look of my hero family off a friend I’ve been spending a lot of time with lately, Safety Sign Man.

Safety Sign Man doesn’t work very safely. I thought, perhaps if he was reminded of his family he’d work a bit safer. The beauty of this symbol is that he is recognized globally as a safety symbol and would be easy to understand on-site and across language barriers. I quickly sketched his family into a heart and got to work in Illustrator.

Design Execution
Working in Illustrator is fun. When I began, I attempted to create a step-by-step guide on how I created my logo. I quickly realized that creating a logo isn’t a linear process and is instead an exercise in creativity and trial and error. I experimented with a lot of tools and features, but the logo was created mostly with shape tools (rounded rectangles, ellipse), pen tool, strokes, align, and text.

My first draft of the logo went through multiple iterations. Check out the slideshow below to see how the design progressed to my draft from last week.

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As shown below, eventually I decided to simplify my logo and removed everything except the family and main copy.  I fine-tuned my shapes using the pen and align tools which proved valuable as I sought to keep the bottom flush. I then manipulated the copy by tilting my ‘e’ by 10 degrees. I feel this makes it a bit friendlier and aligns with my company brand. I chose a safety orange color palette that draws the viewers’ attention to the child and tagline. Satisfied with the result, I converted my shapes and copy to outlines which would allow me to achieve scalability.

Revision Process
Before I began making revisions to my logo I reviewed the feedback from my classmates and instructor. I also shared it with my marketing team to receive even more. Overall the feedback was positive and I felt that I was on the right track. The logo was easy to understand and effectively connected to safety. There was consensus that I need to include my full slogan and differing opinions on my choice to exclude the heart shape.

Art boards made the revision process in Illustrator easy. I simply returned to my favorite version and began to refine it further. A fair amount of time was dedicated to dialing in the details of this version. I focused on stroke weights, spacing, shapes, and overall scale. One key revision in this stage was shortening the height of my hero family which I feel really helped the balance of the logo.

I then began playing with ways to incorporate my full slogan, Why We Work Safely. I settled on a design which I feel reinforces the importance of safety with bold color and font selection. Finally, I reintroduced the heart shape to my logo. Using the Gestalt principle of continuation, I took my classmate’s feedback to heart (pun intended) and placed it on each family member’s chest. I love the result and feel this application immediately connects the audience with their families, instead of strangers.

I’m pleased with my logo and can’t wait to see it in the field on hard hats everywhere. As this logo is not company specific, I am considering providing it to the Seattle Association of General Contractors so they can help promote safety industry wide.

IMAGE SOURCES

Hard hat images and Safety Sign Man graphics are courtesy of Lease Crutcher Lewis.