A few words from the client:

“Hey that logo is simply AWESOME!”

 

Designing the logo:

 

I had a post-it with “What is sunrise?” written on my monitor for a few weeks. Numerous “sunrise” or “sun” logos in my database plus quite a number of photos involving all possible landscapes (and a few space-scapes) and rising sun.
The assignment outlines that I gave myself were:
– No circle (or semicircle) involved.
– Has to have at least three colours.
– Has to be picturesque, graphical with “canty” feeling to it.
– No cold, corporative, impersonal shit.
– Retro, or some sort of retro-friendly.
– Simple.
– Catchy.
– Sign (symbol) can be used without typography.
– Has to look good (even) on a T-shirt.
– Once I cracked the symbol it was easier, but opened Pandora’s box of other problems. There were three stages – symbol, font and colour. Colour correlates with an actual sunrise, and its meaning has to be in harmony with the
symbol. Font has to be kinda retro, but not too much. Some sort of informality is desirable. Legible when reduced in size – that’s imperative.

 

My regular logotype cook-book, Dictionary of Symbols (Dictionnaire des symmboles – Allen Gerbrandt and Jean Chevalier) says the following:
…Rooster is a solar symbol. In India it’s an attribute of Skanda, which
personifies solar energy. In Japan – personifies audacity. Holy roosters
are bred in some temples. In China – meaning of “good” , “auspicious
sign”. It has Five Virtues – civic (crest gives it Mandarin appearance),
military (spurs on its feet), courage (its behavior in fighting),
kindliness (shares its food with hens), reliability (accuracy with which
announces the dawn).
In Greece – symbol of light that is born and attribute of Apollo. It was
believed that it can cure disease. Together with dog and horse – one of
three animals that accompanies human spirit in the afterlife. In the
Nordic tradition – symbol of warrior vigilance, guardian of life. Both
in Christianity and Islam – has correlation with angels…
Together with sunrise colour chart:
Brown – Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
Red – excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
Orange – Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.

 

 

Client:

SunriseGames NSW, AU