BRIEF: Create a new logo for Maine Outdoor School (MOS). The business has an existing logo which does not fully meet their needs anymore, but has many qualities which the team likes.
COMPANY: Maine Outdoor School is an innovative Maine L3C that provides educational outdoor experiences for students, mainly K-8, that meet educational objectives and allow land trusts to fulfill their public engagement missions at the same time.
TYPE: Freelance
Brand Qualities
Curiosity.
Maine Outdoor School's mission is shifting to focus on curiosity, specifically curiosity about the natural world, as a driving force for land stewardship and youth outdoor education.
MOS emphasizes curiosity over concepts like adventure and risk, and sought a logo that was in tune with nurturing and observing.
Education.
MOS views themselves as educators first and foremost, even before being naturalists. Skill and passion for education matters.
Connected to local ecology.
As naturalists, specifics matter, and the specific ecology of Maine- its species, ecological relationships and people- is both special and beloved.
Sketches
Solution
My final logo solution features two black bear cubs enjoying and observing nature in the form of cattails and an osprey, against a background of great white pine.
The logo embraces the qualities that MOS loved about their old logo - its focus on curiosity and nurturing and kid-friendly feeling. I chose to omit the adult bear to simplify the logo and put the focus on the cubs' experience of discovery.
Final Thoughts
The logo features four important elements, each represent distinct species of plants or animals.
Often in logo design we trend toward the generic, in an effort to simplify and create a symbol that sticks in the mind.
However, this approach wasn't right for MOS. As naturalists and guides, they are in the business of helping people understand nature's specifics. In fact, they're pushing back on the perception of nature as a generic setting of "trees," "bushes", "grass," and so on, and allowing people to truly see what's happening - what species are here, what relationships do they have?
When I realized this, I understood how I needed to approach their logo. A "pine tree" for example, shouldn't look like a generic "Christmas tree" shape, but instead like an actual great white pine (note the specificity) silhouette.
Of course we will simplify it, and make it into a graphical element, but the basis of the shape should be reality and not a cartoonized version of reality. In a way, it is the opposite of what we usually do with a logo, which is to abstractify things down as far as possible, until everything becomes only a hint or symbol of something real.
To me, it's an example of why it is so fun to work with diverse local businesses on logo projects. It's not always going to be the same thing, or the thing that we might have learned in school. Every client requires you to step into their world and approach it from their perspective, and that can be very valuable.
