I love it when my client expresses great passion for their own brand, because it helps me help them design the best visuals. A good friend of mine, Cathay Music's founder wanted me to help them create a music production label that would embrace their heritage and background.
The client showed me a random draft that they put together temporarily that was supposed to illustrate the Hong orchid, except we all agreed at the end that it looks more like a cauliflower than an orchid flower. But regardless, it was a good start, as I knew what their thoughts were on the logo.
One of the first thoughts that came to my head was making the logo into a round Asian ink stamp, an imprint that pays homage to their cultural heritage. It would serve almost as an official "sign-off" whenever the logo appears on print.
The problem was then balancing the depiction of music alongside the "Asian-ness." What things in East Asian culture have round symbols? What things in music have round symbols?
I have now dubbed my "Eureka" moment as the "I'm a Genius" moment, because seriously sometimes I don't even know how I think of it. Since ancient China, Chinese people have symbols that illustrate fortune, longevity, and success. And yes, they are round. I combined the symbol pattern of the character "禄" (Lu), and the symbol of a vinyl record to ultimately create the Cathay Music logo.