ThoughtForm Designer Lindsay Quinter applied to be part of the “Command X” contest at AIGA’s 2013 Design Conference because she “wanted to … see what I could do in a pressure-filled environment.”
And she did ThoughtForm proud: Quinter made it to the final round of the contest, starting out as one of seven who presented their work for real-time judging and elimination during the October conference in Minneapolis. Her first task—to design a new logo for Prince—immediately presented a challenge, she wrote in a behind-the-scenes account of her experience:
“I listen to country music. Prince couldn’t have been any farther from my comfort zone. But … I dug my heels in, did some research, and took an objective approach. I came away with the idea of balancing femininity and masculinity, soft and hard. Referring to gemstones for inspiration, I designed a bold, iconic letter P. Sometimes Prince removes a seemingly important element (e.g. the bass) from a musical arrangement, so I chose not to include typography. This was a decision that set my solution apart from the rest that evening.”
To see the design and hear how she tackled her two other assignments—redesigning the Land O’ Lakes butter package and creating a solution to discourage texting while driving—find her full account on AIGA’s Pittsburgh chapter website.
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