Toxic Masculinity - Logo Development

When I began to consider a logo I wanted it to tie in well with the rest of the resolved branding i.e. the logotype design, meaning I wanted to create something that was representative of equality but also individuality. To do so I began to think about the imagery that is related to male and female segregation between the genders.

The initial imagery that came to mind, which I have previously used within my initial ideas presentation was the symbolism that is directly related to the different genders these are symbols that are widely known, and therefore would be easily understood, although I would need to combine the symbols in order to accurately represent the equality between the two. 

Development 1

I created a combination of the two to be able to visually show the equality through overlaying the designs. Although I don't believe that for a brand that is looking forward and changing times to be progressive in its nature should not only state there are two clear boundaries between the genders and adhere to a design which states such. Therefore I decided to create something which would capture more abstract modern ideas, which are still identifiable but also have a twist of the identifiable changing. 

The other obvious imagery that comes to mind when considering gender stereotype symbolism is the simple symbols which are found in different gender facilities, as a form of separation. Therefore by taking inspiration from this design and creating a modern interpretation from this, it would be in keeping known imagery and allowing for the audience to understand whilst allowing for the visual development of a change. A third figure would also be developed to create a visual representation of the gender identifications between the two mainstream ones. 

Sketch Ideas

From my initial sketches, I developed the idea which gave the best representation of all the genders and the brand. the following design shows an abstract interpretation of the traditional symbols in a way which allows for more questionability and not such a concrete box to fit into, through the use of simplistic shapes which are used in different directions in order to represent either mainstream gender, in comparison to the distinctive female and male symbolism used in the existing imagery. The addition of the lane stretch in a different zigzag direction allows for the additional thought of people who identify with either male or female.

Development 2

As can be seen below in development three the design was then curved to create a softer impression on the eye. The curved nature of the design also compliments the logotype as it compliments the curved nature of the letterforms 'c' and 'e', the head of the designs were also inspired by the perfect circle which these two letter outlines form. 

Development 3