Each student in our class was assigned a real-world client to design a logo for in the span of three weeks. The goal of the project was to produce a logo that is representative of the client and its services in a relatively short timeframe, while clearly showing the idea development throughout the process. My client was "The Sound Foundation," a company in Dallas, Texas that provides musical instrument lessons, songwriting courses, recording, audio production, and music business classes for all genres.

The Sound Foundation's name itself is a play-on-words that can be interpreted two different ways. One meaning is simply a descriptor of itself as a musical organization, but it can also refer to a solid foundation on which you build your career in music. The word "sound" acts as a double meaning in this case. "Sound" as in music, or "sound" as in stable.

While researching the company, I found that many of the clients they have worked with in the past were heavy metal musicians, including Glenn Danzig and Type O Negative. The instructors and general aesthetic of the company follow the same trend, so I opted for a style that was more indicative of heavy metal.

I wanted to find a way to reflect the company's clever name in the final logo. The solution was a metronome, a time-keeping device used by musicians. The needle of the metronome is replaced with a lightning bolt to give the piece a stronger sense of energy, which along with the choice of red and black, completes the heavy metal feel.

Despite the brevity of the project, the result is a logo that is appropriate for the client that accurately represents their culture and services. The image of a metronome ties back into the idea of The Sound Foundation as a company that collaborates with musicians and helps them get their career in music started. The lightning bolt and color selection add to the heavy metal feel.