Deep Dive Into My Logo

While I was pursuing my MS in Mass Communications at San Jose State, I was attending night school to pick up a certificate in Commercial Art & Graphic Design. I learned quite a bit about brand development and logo design, but never produced something I felt worthy of public consumption until now.

There is a lot of symbolism packed into this logo. It’s the result of several ideas I had swirling around in my head. I’d attempted to sketch it out on paper first, but really couldn’t translate my thoughts into design until I had my laptop open and the right music playing in the background.

The color palette is inspired by the apps TikTok and Cameo, because I wanted it to look cohesive with them in marketing materials. It’s also designed to look good in grayscale.

My initials DD are represented on the right; one is the inner curve of the crescent moon, and the other is the larger curve of the light blue field. A second set of D’s was spotted circling the logo with one facing west and both D’s sharing a center spine.

The red house shape on the left is inspired by The Johnston House, the most iconic historic home on the coast. The color might also suggest a barn to some; the Coastside has deep agrarian roots.

At first glance the key appears to be a fairly standard element in real estate advertising, but look closely and you’ll see the teeth are shaped like a set of waves.

The shape is optimized to fit a social media profile picture, an Instagram button, an app icon; the possibilities are numerous!

Would you like a piece of logo swag? I’m still figuring out what to offer! At the top of my list are keychains, magnets, buttons, and pens. I’d be happy to send you something!