Tim Lee

Dr. Schuchardt

COMM 344

15 March 2021

Icon #1: Religious

When thinking about the concept of the religious symbol, I wanted to make an icon that

connected Christianity with music. One of the reasons why is the worship portion of the service

is my favorite time at church, but also I believe that the music is the most impactful part of the

sermon for many. Whenever I bring a friend to my church, the first topic they talk about is the

music and how it changed the atmosphere of the room, as well as the people. I wanted to make a

symbol that could be easily remembered and used for choir groups, bands, Christian music

conferences, and etc. I also wanted the symbol to be appealing yet understood to both believers

and non-believers. The symbol is very simple; it is a regular eighth note, but rather than the

regular oval at the bottom of the note, it is the “Jesus Fish.” Essentially, it is a symbol that takes

two symbols combined together that makes both of the symbol’s definitions combined as well to

create something different. However, this symbol needs no explanation from an outside source,

even if it is the first time seeing the symbol. Some great symbols have an underlying meaning,

which at first many do not understand, with many complex designs and unique shapes. However,

for me, I wanted to create something universal, that no matter what culture, language, or even

country you are in, this music symbol would be understood. Like the first usage of the fish being

non-verbal communication, I wanted this symbol to speak in that way. I used the eighth note

because the replacement of the oval with the “Jesus Fish” is one that doesn’t distort the symbol

in a way that makes it grotesque or ruins the integrity of the image. Symbols of music notes and

clefs are often correlated with elegance and beauty, and I didn’t want to take that away from

quarter notes. In terms of the color of the note, I would want to keep the note black in order to
Tim Lee

Dr. Schuchardt

COMM 344

15 March 2021

keep the parallel of how notes are depicted in sheet music. In terms of the font, I believe

Helvetica would be a great choice. When watching the film, one of the interviewees talked about

how the Helvetica font made those using it seem more accessible, transparent, human, and etc. I

think that ideal is perfect for what I wanted for this symbol, and the aesthetic of the font is also

well done. It is not overbearing in which it takes away from the icon, but the font provides an

accent that complements the symbol.

Version 1.1

- Used just one line for the tail,

used the music note staff for the other tail

- Changed font to more wavy

- Made the fish more horizontal,

less submerged

- Stacked the words rather than

across

- Not really liking the look, will

redo
Tim Lee

Dr. Schuchardt

COMM 344

15 March 2021

Version 1.2

- Changed the font back to helvetica but

used italics font

- Changed the look of note, make it less

“grim reaper” or “death”

- Changed the character back to going

across

- Like this a lot better then Version 1.1,

however will probably bring back the stack

character look, but like the italic look font, look

wavy without using too much flair

Final Version

- Brought back the second tail, people who

looked at my logo without context couldn’t really

tell it was the Jesus fish, second tail makes it clear

- Brought back the stacked look, I like it a lot

with the Helvetica Italic Font, makes it more

concise and clean