Challenge of contrasts: Buttoned-down with an edge

Kevin D Phillips

By day, I am a business professional in a large conservative corporation. I wear a business suit every day but find I can express my individuality and creativity through tie color, pocket squares, and cuff links. Sometimes, a splash of color or contrasting patterns set me apart, yet I still fit in among my more conservative peers. This describes my personality very well: Buttoned-down with an edge. One one hand, I am reliable, determined, committed, buttoned-down, high achieving leader ... on the other hand, I am adventurous, playful, mischievous man with a few surprises.

Despite my more conventional work by day, I am also adventurous and fun-loving outside the office. I love music (I am a pianist), travel, experiencing new things (locations, foods, people - perhaps I’m a change junky), and photography. I often push my own personal limits (despite fear of heights, I recently jumped out of an airplane).

I would like the logo to capture these two contrasts.

This will be a personal logo, not for my business. I intend to use it for personal business cards, websites, stationery, presentations, and videos (primarily for personal and family purposes). This is just a fun way to “brand” myself. I’m looking for sophisticated, yet understated ... memorable, yet simple, crisp, and clear.

Words that describe what I AM looking for:
- simple, clean, uncluttered
- sleek, smart, crisp, sharp
- sophisticated and elegant, but not fancy
- creative, innovative
- artistic and innovative, but not ornamental or cartoonish
- understated and tasteful
- unique and distinctive
- new and fresh
- “conservatively edgy” (like me, smile)
- could be slightly playful

Words that describe what I DON’T want:
- complicated
- messy and cluttered
- busy
- familiar, tired, predictable
- old-fashioned
- ostentatious, showy

I think I am primarily interested in using mostly the text for the logo. The logo can have graphic elements, and it might be more attractive with them. But I am not interested in cartoon/clip art in the logo.

Color - Although I am open to creative suggestions, I prefer a two-color logo, but capable of “carrying itself” if printed in one color. I am not sure which colors and will leave that to your creativity, but I am looking for something “conservatively edgy”; that is, no neon colors (smile!). At the same time, I don’t want to be predictable. I like many shades/variations of blue (it’s my favorite color). A friend used a brown and silver/gray in his logo and it looked great.

I do not know much about graphic arts, but I intend to use this logo in print (business cards, stationery, etc.) and digital media (websites, Powerpoint and Keynote presentations, videos for web and DVD, etc.). Please provide high quality deliverables to support those needs. I noticed in the FAQ that (1) for print, I need AI and PDF (CMYK), and (2) for web, JPG and layered PSD (RGB). If there are other formats helpful to support my purposes, please include those as well.

I’d like to have a few different versions (some for horizontal spaces, others where there is more vertical space available).