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After talking to Bryan at our initial meeting to discuss concepts for a logo for Three Worlds, here are some concepts that I started to work with:
Visual images that came to my mind were mystical, spiritual, historical (even ancient), and symbolic. We talked about a circular image, like the Dharma Wheel and the Mandala. We talked about the Trinity. In religion this has obvious references, but for Bryan it also had musical significance, referring to three aspects of music: melody, harmony and rhythm.
Some images came to mind, like using a single Buddhist wheel, or three intersecting circles. It was to be simple, graphic, some what Asian in its sensibility, like Zen calligraphy. Some of Bryan’s interests ranged from Japanese art, to spiritual poetry, to African music. His tastes in art were drawn to abstract expressionist painters like Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb, and strong contrasts between positive and negative space, with balance and symmetry.
Ideas for color were in the rich tones of the Earth, like magentas, browns, and autumnal hues.
I did some research on all of these concepts in the library and the internet. Here are some of the things I found that influenced me:
My first topics were the Dharma wheel and Buddhist symbolism. I had already been visualizing the Japanese triskele motif (tomoe), which I have seen in a book of mine called The Elements of Japanese Design, a Handbook of Family Crests, Heraldry & Symbolism. I like the simple and dynamic energy in the three teardrop shapes chasing one another in a circle. In my research, I found that this triskele is used in Buddhist meditation, often at the hub of a Dharma wheel, and sometimes found on its own.
One website with a lot of information is:
http://www.aboutulverston.co.uk/celts/magatamas.htm
It draws a complex relationship of this symbol from traditional Buddhist ritual to Celtic art. The graphic symbol of three elements in the circle appears in many ancient cultures, and evolves into images used in many contemporary forms.
Here are some uses of the idea of three:
Body, Mind, Spirit
Father, Son, Holy Spirit
The three bodies of the Buddha: dharmakaya, samboghakaya, and nirmanakya. They have been translated into English as the bodies of: ultimate reality, joy, and flesh and blood.
My interest in the triskele was mostly from the original mystical and spiritual symbolism, and the fact that it embodied many of the elements that appealed to Bryan, such as the circle and the Asian philosophies. I liked the fact that there were Celtic references to this motif, and the modern worldbeat connections between African and Celtic music brings a global flavor to all of this.
A little Buddhist background for the trikaya symbol comes from a website http://www.khandro.net/doctrine_trikaya.htm
It talks about the three bodies of the Buddha.
I saw that this concept made a lot of sense for the foundation of the Three Worlds logo.
How this translates into the finished product?
The main components are the Circle, and the Three Elements. These represent Three Worlds, and the three musical concepts of melody, harmony, and rhythm. The three teardrop shapes of the Buddhist trikaya, or Japanese triskele have taken on musical forms, those of eighth notes with descending tails. The spirals in the heads of the notes refer to Celtic ornamentation. The three-winged knot in the middle represents the Trinity with many layers of meaning.
There were many choices for a typeface, and what Bryan and I chose was something simple and contemporary. It’s a bit calligraphic, but not too much so that it draws attention away from the graphic of the circle. The background is just decoration, a little bit of African influence there. If it looks like a stamp, that’s OK, because it can represent travel, and the worldliness of the music. The colors are rich and earthy.
Bryan had a lot of input, and helped me a great deal in developing this logo with his expressive description of what his music and his philosophy means to him. It was really cool to be able to draw all of these elements together into something that can be a symbol for his music.
Best regards,
Jan Zender-Romick
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Bryan had a lot of input, and helped me a great deal in developing this logo with his expressive description of what his music and his philosophy means to him.
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