LOGO DESIGN
DDN STORAGE
Founded in 1998, DataDirect Networks (DDN) has been a prominent leader in the data storage industry despite it being a privately-held company. With over 11,000 customers ranging from life sciences, to high-performance computing and AI, DDN provides reliable storage solutions that can scale for any data storage need.
During my time at DDN, the company was in need of a shift from its original logo to a brand new identity. The word “Networks” sometimes led to a misunderstanding of DDN being a network business rather than a data storage company. So, the goal was to create an identity that incorporated the initials DDN, the word “Storage” and a visual element to represent the concept of storage. The logo likewise needed to retain the red color to convey speed, power and innovation amongst our blue-laden competitors.
Through many iterations, the final logo was selected and subsequently placed on dozens of tradeshow graphics, thousands of sheets of paper and displayed proudly on products which are still used to this day.
Disney Replay
With such hits such as Hannah Montana, That’s So Raven and Lizzie McGuire, Disney sought to create a programming block (which would later became a stand-alone TV channel) that would be a proper home for these beloved original shows. And so, Disney Replay was conceived. However, it needed a proper logo and that’s where design studio Hamagami & Caroll stepped in. During my time as a freelance designer there, I was assigned to this project.
I had mulled over a few themes such as “rewinding” but eventually settled on the theme of “analog to digital” to convey the idea of the evolution of how we now consume TV as a whole. No longer do we need to wait daily for our favorite shows to air, but now we can save those episodes on our DVRs for unlimited “replay” viewing.
Below are the various logo concepts I designed as well as some samples of the style and color inspiration behind the “analog to digital”-themed logos.
Kame.Ko Catering
Teppanyaki is a post-World War II style of Japanese cuisine wherein a skilled, entertaining chef uses an iron griddle is used to cook food in front of the guests. My cousin-in-law, a professional Japanese teppanyaki chef with almost a decade of experience, approached me with a project to create a logo for his new catering business. He specifically requested that the logo contain three stacked “kame” (Japanese for “turtle”) and the characters for “itame” (Japanese for “stir fry”).
Rather than settling on a logo that’s clean and modern, I went with a textured, hand-crafted style to reflect the intimate nature of a teppanyaki dinner. Though it’s popular to use “cute” anime style illustrations, I instead opted for a silhouette of the three turtles within a red circle to create a recognizable, versatile icon while simultaneously paying homage to Japanese culture and cuisine. Incorporating the “itame” into the O made sense, being that your stir fry dinner will be served on your plate!
Though this project was smaller in scale than other logos I’ve created, I felt this was an important work to highlight as I feel that Kame.Ko channels that Japanese spirit of persistence, resolve and talent to achieve one’s goals.
