Creating a personal brand is like trying to fold a fitted sheet: it's a challenging task that leaves you feeling confused and frustrated. But despite the difficulty, I managed to pull it off! As a designer, I've created brands for others in the past, but when it came to branding myself, it was a whole different story. I had to dig deep and ask myself some serious questions about what I wanted to communicate and how I wanted to be perceived. But after lots of brainstorming and soul-searching, I finally came up with a design that I'm proud of. All while wearing sweatpants.
When it came to designing my logo, I went through more logo iterations than a cat goes through lives. I drew inspiration from Swiss-style logos and ultimately landed on a minimalist design that has aged like a fine wine (or cheese, if you prefer). My logo consists of four circular shapes facing each other, cleverly using negative space to reveal the Damascus sword monument, a subtle nod to my hometown of Damascus, Syria. It's also versatile enough to be interpreted as either two exclamation points or the four letters in my name. The emblem is paired with my name, Majd Nemeh, in a clean sans-serif font that I won't share with you (because secrets are fun). The emblem is in red, while the typography is in black, making it visually striking and bold. I have a plethora of alternative logos because it's such a flexible design.
As for my color palette, I went with a classic combination of black and (mainly) white as the primary colors, with red as the accent color. I didn't want to overdo it with the red, though - I limited the use of red to certain occasions, just like a good bottle of wine that you save for special moments. The secondary colors include two shades of grey and a light pink that adds just the right amount of whimsy. When it comes to typography, I chose Navigo for its elegant and modern design and for body text, I went with Aktiv Grotesk, a solid and reliable choice that always gets the job done. Overall, my brand is all about clean typography that takes center stage, with no distractions. It's like a minimalist work of art, but with more words.
My website is my digital baby - I put so much time, effort, and love into it that it's practically a family member at this point. I wanted the design to be as clean and minimalist as possible, with plenty of white space and no unnecessary clutter to distract from the main event - my content. It's like a blank canvas waiting to be filled with my thoughts and ideas. I took great care in crafting the user experience, ensuring that everything is easy to navigate and that my type hierarchy is crystal clear. There were moments when I was tempted to add a fancy line here or a flashy animation there, but I resisted the urge and kept the design simple, sleek, and professional.
Lastly, I'm proud to showcase some product mockups featuring my branding. Though they may not have any practical use, they serve as a visual representation of how my logo and typography can be applied in different contexts. From coffee cups to trash cans, I've experimented with various products and designs to ensure that my brand identity remains consistent and professional across all touchpoints. It's a small but important part of building a cohesive and recognizable brand.
