About This Guest Post
The guest posts published on the IWMW blog need not necessarily be just about reflections on previous IWMW events. In this post Stephen Ashurst describes how he came up with the idea of a logo for the IWMW 2016 event.
Designing a Logo for IWMW
Just to be clear, no one had asked me to redesign the IWMW logo. Indeed to some it may seem sacrilegious that I would even consider replacing the famous spider graphic with anything at all. However given the approaching 20th anniversary of IWMW, I felt the creation of a new logo could be a positive step for the continuation of this group. I also felt that it was something positive I could contribute, as my small part in helping Brian with the monumental task of coordinating this event every year.
So, to build a logo. This is always a challenge to avoid the obvious cliched ideas, but still create something that feels simple and somehow already familiar. To make something that conveys the relevant gravitas of a group that has run for 20 years, yet still deals with the cutting edge of technology. I wanted to go back to basics – what the group was all about. Essentially representatives from institutions that come together to create an entity that is potentially greater than the sum of its parts. Which coincidentally is pretty much the way the internet itself can be represented. Realising this I felt encouraged that it was the right idea to pursue. In some ways creating the visual representation of this was quite easy – a large circle connected to other smaller circles surrounding it. Some were different sizes and there was no regular pattern to distance and direction from the centre. Then there was the matter of how to use this with the initials of the group, IWMW. Although these are usually written as capital letters to show it’s an abbreviation rather that a town Eastern European. It still begins with the letter ‘i’. Therefore it made sense to use the graphic element as the dot over the ‘i’.
Obviously design is a subjective business and I doubt this will please everyone, but I hope enough people will see it as a symbol that visually represents what they have come to know as IWMW.
Biography
Stephen Ashurst is a web and digital professional from Loughborough University. He has seen, built and driven many changes to the ever evolving face of the Lboro website, over the 18 years he’s been there. Having worked with and managed our very small team of highly talented designer/developers to achieve fantastic results.
Stephen came to his first IWMW back in 2011 and was eager to take in all the goings on across the different HE institutions. How they dealt with setbacks and pushed boundaries, but was taken back by the openness and friendship found there. He has returned when ever possible and has every intention of continuing to do so.
- Email: S.C.Ashurst@lboro.ac.uk
- Twitter: @ash_28
- LinkedIn: Stephen Ashurst
IWMW events attended: [IWMW 2011], [IWMW 2013] and [IWMW 2015]
