So no site name?

Every time I redesign my website I come up with a new logo for myself, usually it’s simply text placed in the usual position. But every once in a while I’ll try and create some icon to go with it, not that my name lends itself to anything obvious. Instead it’s always been something a little abstract and without a consistant look between any of these versions if I wanted to create some recognition for myself I’m certainly going about it the wrong way.

For this website I considered if using my own name for the logo was entirely necessary. The website already uses my name in a few different places, including the title tag and domain name. The title tag is used by Google in it’s rankings so visitors from there know my name. The same is true of anywhere linking with my URL as text. There’s also the intro text with my name just in case people come from elsewhere.

Anyone linking directly to an article is less concerned with who I am but more with what I say, but my name’s there too. So with my name everywhere else does it need to be in the top left corner. I’m no big company so brand recognition is not important to me.

I considered using my photo instead. Sure I’m no web celebrity, and that’s not the goal of this, but having my photo as the logo maybe communicates more that my name would.

I know a few websites that are built on the name of one person and over time become a team, all contributing under a single person’s name. These sites have the potential to confuse. By using my own face, as much as I dislike photos of myself, as the logo I reaffirm the personal aspect of this website; that it is just me.

In this case my photo says more about the type of site this is than my name would, even to people who would not recognise me.

After I chose to do this, I simply added a mask to harmonise the photo with the website background, and also created something a little different for the favicon and apple icons around a similar shape.